Indian pacer Umran Malik came into the spotlight in the IPL 2022 season by taking 22 wickets for the Sunrisers Hyderabad It paved the way for his India debut, and he impressed with 24 wickets from 18 matches. During the ODI against Sri Lanka in January of 2023, Umran clocked 156 kph recorded as the fastest-ball ever bowled by an Indian. The pacer had other special moments like bowling a 151 kph ripper against Bangladesh breaking batter Najmul Hossain Shanto’s stumps into 2.
However, Umran’s stay in the Indian team came to an abrupt end and he last bowled for India back in July 2023. Even his IPL form saw a huge dip as he only picked up 5 wickets from 8 matches last year and played just a single game this season. Besides, less than 24 hours ago, Umran was also ruled out of the Duleep Trophy India B squad for the first round of matches due to an illness.
According to former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, Umran’s is a classic example of what happens to a bowler without much red-ball bowling experience. With just 12 First-Class matches behind him, Umran has struggled to stay relevant, losing his position in the pecking order to the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar.
“Umran is a classic case of who has not played enough red-ball cricket. He came to the reckoning through the IPL. That’s 24 balls in a game. Sometimes you don’t even get to bowl 24 balls. The amount of pressure of bowling 24 balls is not like the red ball. I feel this (T20) is not a format to judge a prospect,” Mhambrey told The Indian Express.
“We made sure that he played Ranji Trophy and red ball cricket. The moment you will play one season, you will understand your bowling. Physically you will be tested in different phases of the game. Sometimes you will have to be on the ground for six sessions. And to be able to bowl with that intensity when the last session is coming up, you will be physically and mentally challenged. And you need to go through that,” Mhambrey added.
