If I bowl only two overs….I also need some overs to heat up my batteries: Umran Malik takes a dig at SRH management
Umran Malik was the star of the 2022 Indian Premier League season for Sunrisers Hyderabad having nabbed 22 wickets in 14 games. In the months that followed, the young speedster, who consently clocked above the 150 mark, would be rewarded with the India cap in both the white ball formats. In the 16 games that he has played so far in international cricket, Umran has 24 wickets to his name.
IPL 2023 however, has been far from the spotlight tournament the Jammu and Kashmir bowler would’ve wanted. SRH would opt for Malik in only seven of their 13 games until Sunday, when they feature in their final league stage game against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.
Ahead of the match, when Umran was enquired on air of his recent form, he’d tell Star Sports, “Last year, I played all games and bowled all overs. This time, I bowled less overs and took 5 wickets only. When I wasn’t playing, I was putting on the hard work. I hope to perform better today (against MI).”
When asked if he thought, he’d slowed down a little, Umran added, “I don’t think my pace is impacted. If I bowl only two overs… I also need some overs to heat up my batteries and get that pace up. I’m trying to bowl the right lines with good speed, and with some variations. When the team needs wickets, I target wickets. Otherwise, I try to curb the flow of runs.”
Ahead of the Mumbai game, Umran had only five wickets in his kitty in seven games. The SRH management has also received fair share of criticism for their performance this season, being at the bottom of the points table, and for not handling Umran well, as was said former India seamer Zaheer Khan in a recent media interaction.
At toss against Bangalore in their previous league game, captain Aiden Markram would be asked the reason behind the right-arm quick’s absence in the playing lineup, to which the South Africa batter responded, “Not too sure to be honest” giving spark to further speculations.
