‘Watching him bowl reminded me of the great Waqar Younis’: Irfan Pathan heap praises on SRH pacer Umran Malik

Uncapped Indian speedster Umran Malik is playing only the second season of his IPL career, but he has already made a name for himself. The Srinagar-born has impressed many with his pace and bounce, generating speeds over 145 km/h.

Malik, in fact, clocked the 150-mark in every game since his IPL debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) last year.

Competing against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday (April 18), Malik returned with impressive bowling figures of 4 for 28. He first sent back Jitesh Sharma by taking a sharp catch off his own bowling. Then, in the last over of the Punjab innings, the 22-year-old paceman dismissed Odean Smith on the very first ball. He also came near to picking up a hat-trick in the same over by removing Rahul Chahar and Vaibhav Arora off successive deliveries, but Arshdeep Singh denied him from doing so.

Meanwhile, former India international Irfan Pathan – who was on air at that moment, heaped massive praise on the young fast bowler.

Pathan said that when he first saw Malik bowling at the Jammu and Kashmir camp, it reminded him of legendary Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis.

“The first time I saw him bowl was when I played for Jammu and Kashmir and was their mentor. Watching him bowl reminded me of the great Waqar Younis.”

‘He is certainly somebody whom we should keep an eye on for the future’: Dale Steyn

“Umran is fantastic. It (his performances) is no reflection of me at all. It’s all him at the moment. He has got amazing skills, he is showing everybody, bowling 150 kph. I am kind of living through him, wishing I could do it. But it’s all him at the moment. He is certainly somebody whom we should keep an eye on for the future,” South African legend Dale Steyn, who is SRH’s fast bowling coach, had said after the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) last week.

Malik bowled a fiery yorker to clean up KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer in that game.

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April 18, 2022 at 09:10AM