“More You Bowled, The Slower…”: Umran Malik’s Raw Pace Has Impressed All, But Daniel Vettori Sounds A Warning

Umran Malik is the talk of the town after his latest exploits in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. On Wednesday night, the lad from Jammu and Kashmir scalped 5/25 for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) against Gujarat Titans. It was his maiden five-for but more than that, his express pace impressed all. Malik’s emergence has given the Indian team management fresh hope of yet another pace superstar in the ranks. There are several reports pointing towards Malik’s induction into the Indian cricket team.

However, former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori advised caution in managing Malik’s workload. “This is a gem here and it’s just how it’s looked after in the next couple of years for Indian cricket and how to get the best out of him,” Vettori, a former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain, said on ESPNCricinfo’s ‘T20 Time Out’ show.

“Potentially, it might be the best thing for him coming under the umbrella of the BCCI or the NCA, and they can manage his workloads, because there is a temptation for a player of his pace to keep bowling. I am reflecting on my conversation with Shane Bond and the fact that he thought the more you bowled, the slower you got,” said Vettori, who had taken 362 wickets from 113 Tests and 305 scalps from 295 ODIs.

“That pace generates an anxiety among batsmen and not just tailenders, it’s all batters,” Vettori said.

“We don’t often see bowlers get around 153-154 mark. That’s exceptional pace, that’s a rarity that we haven’t seen I suppose consistently since the likes of (Brett) Lee, Shoaib Akhtar or Shaun Tait.

Promoted

“So, to see that is a huge part of the game now. You can see the excitement factor, brings a bit of X-factor.”

The 22-year-old Jammu and Kashmir player’s maiden five-for dismantled Gujarat Titans’ batting line-up in SRH’s IPL game before Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan pulled off a heist by hitting four sixes in the final over to win the match by five wickets.