Abdul Rashid, a fruit and vegetable shop owner in Jammu, has had innumerable phone calls attended since late last year when his son, Umran Malik, burst on the IPL scene and, only in his second IPL match, broke the record for the fastest delivery bowled by an Indian in the IPL when he clocked 152.95 KPH vs RCB.
Sunrisers Hyderabad retained Umran Malik and the youngster has only got better under the guardianship of Dale Steyn in the ongoing IPL 2022.
The 22-year-old, on Sunday, registered his best IPL bowling figures, 4/28 against Kings XI Punjab. In the match, he also became only the fourth bowler in the IPL to bowl a maiden 20th over.
Shashi Tharoor also batted for Umran Malik and said that he deserves a place in the Indian Cricket Team.
So what is the secret of Umran Malik’s rapid pace? Malik’s father, Abdul Rashid, reckons his son’s extreme pace comes to him naturally and is a result of all the incredible amount of work he has put in in his bowling since he was a child.
“His bowling action and pace are all natural. He has not done any special training or additional work on that. It comes naturally. He used to practice with a Cosco tennis ball. And it is what it is,” Rashid told News18 Cricketnext.
“It’s all his hard work that has taken him to the IPL. Na din ko sota tha, na raat ko sota tha. Dhoop ho, chhav ho, isne mehnat kabhi nahi chhodi (He hardly slept in a day. Ne never stopped working hard regardless of the conditions).
Rashid revealed that he and his wife always gave their support to Umran Malik to play cricket and chase his dreams.
“He was interested in cricket since his childhood, he always wanted to be a cricketer. We never stopped him to do so. He was also good at his studies and regularly went to school. After school hours, he used to go to play cricket. His mother has supported him throughout. Whatever he needed for cricket, we made sure he gets that. Whatever he is today, is only because of his passion,” he added.
Umran Malik has rattled even the likes of Andre Russell and Shreyas Iyer with his short and hard lengths. He has developed a toe-crushing yorker too in his repertoire and showcased it in the last couple of games.
