Umran Malik made his IPL debut in 2021 and soon became a sensation thanks to his pace which was north of 145. On one occasion, he even went on to hit 150, bowling the fastest ball in the history of IPL. Thanks to such performances, he was soon drafted into the Indian side and played against England in July. He was also picked as a net bowler for the upcoming T20 World Cup, but Visa issues hampered his plans after which he was asked to play the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 (SMAT2022).
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The youngster used that opportunity to the full and fired on all cylinders against Maharashtra where he went onto register stupendous figures of 4/27. In this breathtaking spell, he managed to dismiss the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad. WATCH the full spell below.
Nonetheless, despite his heroics, Jammu and Kashmir could not stop Maharashtra from winning the match by three wickets. Courtesy half centuries by Rahul Tripathi and Pavan Shah, Maharashtra chased down the target of 176. Abdul Samad with a well made 55 off 33 balls was the highest scorer for Jammu and Kashmir.
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The 22-year-old, one of the country’s designated net bowlers for the World Cup Down Under, will now have to feature in the J&K squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The bowler has got an exemption from the Indian cricket board to join the J&K squad for SMAT. He then joined the team in Mohali for the Elite Group C match against Meghalaya.
It is now known that Umran will not board the flight to Australia and there is also no clarity on how many matches he will play from J&K in SMAT.
Former Australia pacer Brett Lee was disappointed when he heard that Malik may not join Team India in Australia. “Umran Malik is bowling at 150 km per hour. I mean when you have the best car in the world, and you leave it in the garage, then what’s the point of having that car? Umran Malik should have been picked in the Indian squad for the World Cup,” Lee told Khaleej Times.
The veteran Australia pacer said that the batters struggle to face 140kph in Aussies conditions and then there is Umran who can clock 150kph but will not be playing in the tournament.
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