‘Any more there in J&K?: Umran Malik continues to impress; fires 153kph, IPL’s fastest delivery

J&K pace sensation Umran Malik made more fans of him on Wednesday when he clocked 153kph to bowl the fastest delivery of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in the match his team SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) played against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

Malik achieved this feat in the 4th delivery of the 8th over against Devdutt Padikkal. RCB batter got the outside edge and scored a run on the fastest delivery of IPL 2021.

Earlier, on Sunday night Umran became the first Indian to enter the top 10 for this IPL season to deliver the fastest ball. The 21-year-old clocked a delivery at 146 kmph in his very first over, and he then entered 150s twice on the speed gun.

Commentator Harsha Bhogle was quite impressed by Umran’s skill.

He tweeted: “Something about pace that has you on the edge of your seat. Umran Malik isn’t just a tearaway. He looks a proper bowler and we need to look after him.@IrfanPathan, any more there in Jammu and Kashmir?”

Coach Randhir Singh wsaid Umran had been selected as a net bowler for SRH and got an opportunity to play after T Natrajan could not play due to COVID. The coach said the youngster became the talk of the town after the game against KKR.

“He is very talented and after the match got over, Umran was the talk of the town. We are very proud of him. We want other youngsters also to get motivation from him,” Randhir said.

Umran’s father Abdul Rashid said his son made Jammu and Kashmir and the entire country proud. “We are receiving congratulations and wishes from many people. Lieutenant Governor also congratulated him for his success,” he said.

Rashid said his son was always interested in cricket and it has always been his passion to play for the nation. “He was interested in cricket throughout. In childhood, he used to tell me, ‘I will play cricket.’ We are thankful, he got the opportunity in IPL,” he said.

“We are always with him, we will pray to Allah for more success. He is very hardworking, when we used to go to bed he used to practice all night. Jammu and Kashmir people are very happy about his success. We also wish him the best time ahead and he should keep making the nation proud,” he added. (With inputs from Agencies)