IPL 2021: Umran Malik Developed Strength And Pace By Playing Tennis Ball Cricket –Jammu And Kashmir Captain Parvez Rasool

The Jammu And Kashmir Captain Parvez Rasool has showered praise on the young Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer Umran Malik and said he has developed amazing strength and pace by playing tennis ball cricket.

Umran Malik has been a hot topic of discussion among cricket pundits since he made his debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

He was named as a short-term replacement for star left-arm-pacer T Natarajan in the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad.

Malik impressed everybody with his pace in his debut as he bowled a delivery clocked at 151.03 kmph (93.84 mph), which is the fastest delivery by an Indian bowler in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Adding to it, 11 out of his 24 legal deliveries were above 145 kmph (90mph).

When I Played Him In The Nets, He Was Quick – Parvez Rasool On Umran Malik

The Jammu and Kashmir captain Parvez Rasool while talking about the young Malik told that he was fast when he played him in the nets.

“He is a very talented boy. When I played him in the nets, he was quick. Woh bahot teekha thaa (he was pretty fast) but this was at a different level,” Parvez Rasool, the Jammu and Kashmir captain, told PTI.

“He was literally hurrying the batters with sheer pace. I was very proud to see him hold his own at such a big stage,” added Rasool.

Meanwhile, further Parvez Rasool stated that Umran Malik is a product of tennis ball cricket and he didn’t have any formal coaching in the initial stage of his career. He asserted:

“I don’t think in his initial years, he had formal coaching before joining the coaching camp of District Sports Council. He used to play a lot of tennis ball matches on hire for Rs 500 or 1000.”

“If you look at some of our best fast bowlers including Jasprit (Bumrah), they have all been tennis ball cricket products.

Rasool believes that due to the lightweight of the Tennis Ball it takes some extra effort to generate the pace. He stated:

“The lightweight of the tennis ball means that to generate pace, you need that extra effort. This kid developed strength and pace by playing tennis ball games that he would play in and around Jammu,”

The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Kane Williamson was also impressed with the bowling of the youngster and even called Umran Malik a ‘silver lining’. Williamson during the IPL game said:

“Umran is a special talent, one of the silver linings of where we are, which is certainly not desirable, but we have been able to expose several younger players.”

“Talent in India is immense, so many young guys are ready to go. It was great that Umran was able to get an opportunity tonight,” 

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