Umran Malik turns at the top of his run-up and bustles in as the crowd noise begins to rise. He charges in and sends down another thunderbolt and even before he has completed his follow-through, the stumps are shattered and the zinger bails fly across the sky like lasers, as the noise from the stands explodes in a crescendo. This is what cricket dreams are made of for those who watch and admire, even as many a batsman wakes up with a cold sweat in the middle of the night, dreading the prospect of facing young Umran the next day. This is stuff for folklore.
Umran Malik took a fifer against Gujarat Titans but it was not enough to take Sunrisers Hyderabad to a win. Image: Sportzpics
Umran Malik and IPL 2022 have become synonymous. For a tournament that began with how many batsmen would score and which spinner would be most successful, to see the contribution of raw pace is something to see, and in India, no one becomes a hero faster than a fast bowler.
The most enduring images of any generation of cricket is that of a fast bowler coming charging in to send down some lethal stuff. From the loping strides of ‘Whispering Death’ Michael Holding, to the sheer flat-out race to the crease from Waqar Younis to Kapil Dev’s classic delivery and Lasith Malinga’s deadly pinpoint missiles, the fast bowler has always been the star, irrespective of how many runs are scored by the batsmen.
Umran, and his mentor Dale Steyn too come from that stable. While the young boy from Jammu & Kashmir possibly doesn’t naturally possess the wide-eyed aggression that made Steyn a fearsome sight, his pace does the work for him.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)-Gujarat Titans (GT) match on Wednesday night was an absolute lesson in what fast bowling is all about. Umran sent down four overs, blasted out the stumps four times as he returned the best figures of IPL 2022, a 5/25 that won him the Player of the Match accolades.
It was something to see. SRH got so enamoured with their fast bowler’s spell that they forgot they had a match to win, and were reminded rudely by Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan. But that is another story.
So, why is the fast bowler the star? Simply put, he reflects the power and athleticism that many fans aspire for and many other cricketers dream of, but rarely achieve.
The Indian team, since the time Kapil Dev took over the mantle of fast bowling, has never been the same. Since the time this raw 19-year-old began his debut in 1978, to the time the legendary ‘Haryana Hurricane’ retired, India had tasted the metaphoric blood in terms of fast bowling.
This also reflected in the batting. From the time when the best Indian batsmen were all at sea against genuine fast bowling, we have come this far, when they can all take on the hostility with aplomb and respond with interest.
Though never ever blessed with out and out tearaways, India did however began producing world-class seam-up bowlers, ranging from Ajit Agarkar to Zaheer Khan and onwards to the likes of Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. So much so that now, on any given platform, India likely can give as good as they get in this department.
So, it is but natural that Umran Malik fires up the imagination of ever Indian cricket lover. The sheer pace, combined thankfully with accuracy and the thinking mind, make him one of the finds of this season, and at least someone in the SRH think tank was smart enough to realise the potential of the lad when they retained him ahead of the IPL auction.
The youngster finds himself at second spot on the Purple Cap list, three short of Yuzvendra Chahal, and if SRH play their cards well, no reason why he shouldn’t be right on top.
More so, surely the Team India mandarins are watching. Like one commentator said “you can’t buy pace”. With that in mind, it would be advisable to see the youngster in India colours sooner rather than later.
A genuine fast bowler is like a meteor. He brightens up the sky but burns out rather rapidly. So, the best time to field any good one is now, since no one knows what tomorrow holds.
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