A former star of the Indian Cricket Team questions the handling of Umran Malik in the IPL 2023 by SRH
Umran Malik was a revelation at the IPL 2022, as he impressed everyone with his amazing speed. From Brett Lee to Shoaib Akhtar, everyone was praising him. Some former players even asked the BCCI to take him into the Indian cricket team, and he did make his international debuts in the T20I and ODI formats. but the IPL 2023 has not been kind to him in the Sunrisers Hyderabad ranking. This year, he had played only seven matches in which he took five wickets at an average of 10.35 per over. He last played a game for SRH on April 29 and is yet to play a game this month.
This has shocked the former star of the Indian cricket team, Irfan Pathan, who was earlier associated with the Jammu and Kashmir state team where Umran plays. Irfan wrote in a tweet, "The league's fastest bowler sitting out baffles me. Umran Malik wasn't handled well by his team."
Even Brett Lee, in a recent interaction organised by Jio Cinema, broadcasters of the IPL, suggested SRH use him properly, as he said, "You've mentioned Umran Malik. I think the thing about Sunrisers Hyderabad is that I don't think they have used their bowlers in the right positions, so I would love to see Umran Malik in the powerplay. He has bowled once in a power play this season, and he went for 20 or so runs, but that was a one-off case. It's almost like saying to a batsman that you have to bat, but if you get a duck, you're never going to bat again. You need to have faith, and you need to have a commitment to these guys coming through. I would always give the fast bowler in the IPL a brand new ball and give him the correct field, giving him the confidence to run and bowl the old ball."