Umran Malik Height, Age, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Umar Malik

Umran Malik is an Indian fast bowler known to clock express speeds in a domestic-level format. He replaced the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Thangarasu Natarajan as the latter went on complete isolation due to his COVID-19 positive report on 22 September 2021.

After the match on 3 October 2021 where Umran clocked 151.03 kmph speed, the SRH team’s captain Kane Williamson termed him as a special talent. He further added,

“I suppose one of the silver linings of being where we are, is certainly not desirable, but we have been able to expose a no. of younger players and as we are saying, the talents certainly in India is a mean. There are so many young guys ready to go and get some experience and that will be so much better for their careers. Yeah, Umran is something special and great that he was able to get a run tonight, a fantastic opportunity for him.”

He started playing cricket at the age of 17 at the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council in Srinagar where he was spotted by Randhir Minhas, the head of that academy popularly known as ‘Rajan Sir’ there. During an interview, he revealed,

“Initially, he was not quite serious about the game. He would turn up one day and then disappear for three days. And again, after a week or so, you would see him bowling at the nets. He had a passion for the game, but did not take things seriously.”

As Umran was impressive with his pace, his coach criticized him for his casual approach towards the sport. He scolded him to get serious and disciplined in order to pursue his dreams. Further, he described him as a raw talent with immense potential but needs more guidance. He also said,

“Umar would clock 145-plus at the nets and we knew that if he is mentored properly, he can go far.”

Umar Malik during a match

A few months later, he got selected in the U-19 Jammu and Kashmir team but was omitted from the playing eleven in every match played there. Expressing the disappointment, his coach said,

“They did not give him a longer rope. So, he was disappointed, but then, for us, the challenge was to make sure that he did not lose the plot.”
He developed his pace while playing with a tennis ball during childhood. Coming from a family who could barely afford his expenses, his father motivated him to continue with this game. His coach told that

“He is a class X drop out and all he did was just play cricket. He has elder sisters and he is the only son in the family, so they were very supportive and that helped him play freely.”
While he was practicing in the nets, the then coach of the Assam team and the former wicketkeeper of India Ajay Ratra saw him bowling in the nets. So impressed with his pace that he condemn the selectors for not selecting him in the Jammu & Kashmir’s team.

He soon got selected in the Jammu & Kashmir team where former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan was the mentor of that side. Manhas said during an interview that

“Irfan being a top-level fast bowler, he saw potential in Umran and they started mentoring the young cricketers and that boosted his confidence.”
Pathan recalled that time when he saw Umran for the first time in a camp in Jammu. He said,

“What struck me was his pace, but back then, he would jump out a lot. So, we had to work a bit on his bowling action. That helped him gain control and it benefitted his bowling.”Since Pathan and their head coach Milap Mewada wanted to nurture this talent. But when the protest took place there due to the rising demand for the abolition of Article 370 in 2019, his training got disrupted and all the players were sent back home including Umran. Pathan later told that“Umran was one of the young prospects and our aim was to work with him in the camp and prepare him for the Ranji Trophy. But that did not happen. But all credit to him, he has worked really hard over the last few months and has been very impressive in the nets.”

Irfan Pathan and Milap Mewada (J&K’s Head coach)

Pathan and then Jammu & Kashmir’s coach Milap Mewada wanted to nurture this talent by providing him with maximum training to prepare him for the upcoming tournaments. However in 2019, due to the protests in Kashmir for the withdrawal of Article 370, the state was under curfew. As a result, the training camp was abandoned and the players were sent back to their homes.

Then Syed Ashiq Bukhari, a former IPS office and current CEO of JKCA instructed the district police office to personally go to every player’s home and bring them safely to the camp. After getting selected in the IPL, he caught the eye of the team management when their batter and the Australian star cricketer David Warner was seen getting beaten with his raw pace. For which Pathan said,

“He is still a work in progress and he still needs to play a fair amount of domestic cricket to get better. But he is a genuine talent and has the potential.”
He made his T20 debut on 18 January 2021 against the Railways team in the Syed Mushtaq Trophy under the leadership of Parvez Rasool. Jammu & Kashmir after winning the toss opted to field first. Both Railway openers gave the team, a solid start of 104 runs. On the very first delivery of the 14th over, Umran sent their captain Karn Sharma (bowled) back to the pavilion. Three balls later, he dismissed Mrunal Devdhar on a score of 57. He then took another wicket in the 16th over, thus completing his spell of four overs conceding 24 runs for three wickets with a decent economy rate of 6.00. Jammu & Kashmir won the match with more than four overs to spare. After the match, Parveen Rasool said,

“He is a genuine good talent, who has the potential to go far. In the nets, he would often hit the batters on the helmet. With time, he will certainly improve further.”

Umar Malik with his Jammu & Kashmir’s team squad

A month later, he made his List-A debut against the Bengal team on 22 February in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at Videocon Academy Ground (Kolkata). He conceded 98 runs in his spell of ten overs with an economy rate of 9.8 but managed to take one wicket in that match. Jammu on the other side lost the match by 82 runs.

He got selected in the playing eleven for the injured Sandeep Sharma in the Sunrisers Hyderabad team against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Dubai International Stadium. Sunrisers scored 115 runs while batting first. In reply, Kolkata was 11 for no loss when Umar came out to bowl in the fourth over. He conceded nine runs in his first over with a speed average of 145 kmph. In a full quota of four overs, he conceded 27 runs with an economy of 6.75. Though Sunrisers lost the match but Umran’s bowling won everybody’s heart.