Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has lauded pacer Umran Malik’s ability to scare and threaten the batters with his fierce pace. The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowler won the Emerging Player of the Season award for his performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 edition.
Umran Malik picked 22 wickets in fourteen matches, at an average of 20.18 and an economy rate of 9.03. His wickets tally includes one five-wicket and one four-wicket haul. The youngster finished the season as the fourth-leading wicket-taker. With his fiery pace, Umran bowled several brilliant spells in the tournament, troubling even the best in the business.
In a video uploaded on Aakash Chopra’s Youtube Channel, the former cricketer picked uncapped pacers who made an impact in the IPL 2022 season. He stated:
“First on that list is Umran Malik, his name is about to come anyway. He is the Jammu Tawi Express, what a fast bowler he is. His ball has the sharpness. He has made people run away by scaring and threatening them.”
“He got hit in one or two matches, when he gets hit, he gets hit a lot, then the dam is broken, 40 runs in four overs. Quite a few times, Kane Williamson didn’t bowl him his entire quota as well but whenever he has bowled well, he has taken three-four wickets and even a five-wicket haul,” Aakash added.
As the tournament progressed, the bee-hive started coming closer: Aakash Chopra praises Umran Malik for showing improvement
Aakash Chopra further lauded Umran Malik for showing improving his bowling in the Indian Premier League 2022 season. He pointed out that the young pacer from Jammu and Kashmir improved his bowling line and length as the tournament progressed. Aakash expressed,
“Of course, everyone will talk about his pace because he has that, either you are a fast bowler or you are not. But what I liked about him was that when he started, he was spraying the ball around, the ball was going everywhere if he see the bee-hive. As the tournament progressed, the bee-hive started coming closer.”
The former cricketer further added that Umran Malik’s career will go a long way.
“His bowling became more well-directed. He conceded runs later also but it was not because he was bowling wide. The batters play well at times, use the pace well, which does happen. But this boy will go far,” Chopra stated.
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