Umran Malik
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Contents |
Biographical details
Roots in Jammu
Avinash Azad, May 2, 2022: The Times of India
From: Avinash Azad, May 2, 2022: The Times of India
From: Avinash Azad, May 2, 2022: The Times of India
Abdul Rashid Malik, the father of India’s new pace sensation Umran Malik, is facing an unusual problem. Customers have stopped coming to his vegetables-fresh fruits stall at Shahidi Chowk on Jammu’s Residency Road. “The constant stream of journalists and cameramen is deterring people. Who wants to be clicked buying vegetables? It is intimidating,” he says.
But it is not a problem that Abdul Rashid minds too much. It’s a small sacrifice to make to be able to see his son’s pictures splashed all across every newspaper and news channel. For Abdul Rashid, who was, till not very long ago, embarrassed his son had to borrow shoes from a fellow bowler for a game and spent sleepless nights waiting for him to return home from matches in neighbouring towns, it is a dream come true, a moment to savour. Vegetable sales can wait.
A smile lights up Abdul Rashid’s face as he recalls how he and “Umran’s mommy” had tried to dissuade him, when he was still a child, from playing cricket as they worried it would make his skin dark. “But once he told me how much pleasure he gets out of the game, we never stopped him. Within our limited means, we provided him with whatever he needed to chase his dream,” says Abdul Rashid, his voice often drowning in the din of Residency Road, which leads to the famous Raghunath Temple.
How Umran's family backed him
Jammu’s kids, who now have a new folk hero, remember Umran practicing hard on a make-shift wicket on the River Tawi’s banks. In the short while that Umran has dominated the imagination of a country starved for a fast bowler, facts have already flowed into fables and emerged as stories of dodgy provenance. A young lad of about 12 we met on the river bank said he had seen Umran practice here with a “plastic ball and bat.” It is either the boy’s own imagination or a piece of information he picked up hearing elders talk around him. But it does not matter. The boy who refers to the game as “bat-ball” — a term still preferred over cricket in large parts of northern India – is one of the millions Umran has inspired to dare to dream. Umran's obsession with cricket
Umran was always quick One thing that nobody disputes in Jammu, though, is that Umran was always quick and fond of making batsmen jump up to defend their faces from his searing deliveries. What he, of course, lacked was technical knowledge. But in India, where all the fast-bowling awe for decades was reserved for West Indies “perfume ballers” and Akram’s whip-lash action, just being quick opens a lot of doors for you.
Malik was picked up by the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) without him having proven himself in any big game. Sanjeev Sharma, former cricketer and JKCA coach, who has trained Malik, says: “He is a very hard-working boy and open to learning. But the day he came to us, he was very raw, focused entirely on speed.” On Umran’s recent performances, Sharma says he has delivered on his promise. “That is the first hurdle crossed. I have seen many kids with potential not able to compete at the top level. Umran has. Now, he must take the next step and aim for a spot in the Indian team,” he says. Sharma refers to Umran’s four-wicket haul in four overs against Haryana last year in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. “He did very well in the game and was noticed too. But he also made some mistakes. The short ball is both his strength and weakness, as is true for any fast bowler. But Umran is most dangerous when he bowls the right length.” Jammu Kashmir’s cricket administrator and former cricketer, Ranjeet Kalra, says Umran has gained immensely from the guidance provided by Irfaan Pathan, Parvez Rasool, his coach Randhir Singh and the JKCA. “I am very hopeful that he will soon be a part of the Indian cricket squad.” Brig Anil Gupta (retired), member, administration, JKCA, remembers how Umran had failed to impress in the three games when he was first given an opportunity. “But we didn’t give up on him. His speed was impressive. All he needed was to learn control and add variations,” he says. J&K cricket body believed in Umran's capabilities
Last year, Umran was selected by the Sun Risers Hyderabad as a net bowler. During the second phase of the IPL in Dubai, the team’s main strike bowler T Natarajan tested positive and Umran got an opportunity. That’s when he got noticed as the tournament’s fastest bowler.
Gupta likes Umran’s level-headedness. “When he got selected for Sun Risers Hyderabad, he met me and told me that he was getting a lot of endorsement offers. I asked him to focus on cricket and money will follow. He understood. This boy has a bright future ahead."
The five-wicket haul and 153+km/hr ball
Umran arrived on the big stage with his five-wicket haul for the Sun Risers Hyderabad (SRH) against Gujarat Titans on April 28. What also caught everybody’s attention was the consistency with which he touched 153 km/hr on the speed gun.
He is already being called ‘Jammu Tawi Express’. That is a lazy comparison. No express train in India is express. They mostly clock high speeds between 60 and 80 km/hr. But the moniker does deliver the message home. India’s hunt for a fearsome fast bowler may be over soon.
From political leaders like Shashi Tharoor to legendary cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, there are calls for Umran’s inclusion in the national team. From the banks of the river Tawi, Umran has been pitched into an arena where he could soon be competing with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma.
YEAR-WISE DEVELOPMENTS
Till 2022 March
Varun Pandey, April 6, 2022: The Times of India
NEW DELHI: "In the next couple of years, people will be talking about Umran Malik a lot as we talk about Jasprit Bumrah. He is a serious, serious talent," said former India opener Gautam Gambhir to ESPNCricinfo last year when the Jammu and Kashmir pacer clocked a 152.95kph delivery in his debut IPL season. Along with Gambhir, many other legends of the game and pundits were also mighty impressed with what Umran gave a glimpse of last year in the 3 matches he played in T20 cricket's biggest league. Watching Umran bowl five consecutive deliveries at more than 150 clicks last season in a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore was something fans in India still talk about. After all, it's not a very common sight. And when that happened, it gave the entire nation something unique and special to cheer about. Cut to April 2022, Umran once again is the buzz of the town. Just a couple of games in IPL 2022 so far and the 22-year-old has taken the cricketing world by storm again. The searing pace with which Umran has been bowling is increasingly becoming too hot to handle for the batters.
The 152.4 kph bullet that Umran bowled to Lucknow Super Giants' Deepak Hooda on Monday's game is so far the quickest this season and the rhythm with which Umran is bowling, it looks like he is just warming up for a lot more in the days to come.
With the mighty South African Dale Steyn, who is the bowling coach for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, in his corner, Umran also has a great mentor.
The National selectors of course must already have their eyes on this very talented 22 year old from Jammu and Kashmir. Talks of Umran wearing the India jersey in the near future have been doing the rounds for a while now.
Hailing from Srinagar, Umran incredibly only started playing with the regular cricket ball in 2017. Still very early in his cricketing days, Umran has got quite a lot to learn about bowling and the game itself.
Umran has been mentored by former India pacer Irfan Pathan, who was a mentor of the J&K Team. Last season in the IPL, Umran was a net bowler with the SRH franchise and got the call-up when T Natarajan tested positive for Covid.
Bowling over 150 clicks with ease is almost always a facet of natural talent that a bowler possesses. And Umran very clearly has that. But bowling that quick, while maintaining consistency in line and lengths is something that is very tough to do and he must already have got a lot of advice about that from senior professionals.
Umran also needs to control the runs he is giving away, especially in T20 cricket. At just 22, Umran surely is on his way to making adjustments and improvements in his game, but it will also be the responsibility of the captains and coaches and the various teams he is a part of to turn the Jammu Express into something truly special.
