Umran Malik has not been handled well: Ex-India pacer Slams SRH For Poor Management

New Delhi: Virat Kohli’s ton helped Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday, May 20 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Chasing 187 to win, Virat Kohli looked in fine touch right from the beginning and smashed a fantastic century after a long wait of four years. He stitched a massive opening partnership of 172 runs with Faf du Plessis.

None of the SRH pacers created any problem for Kohli, this year Hyderabad’s bowling unit has failed to perform. Their star pacer Umran Malik who picked up 22 wickets in 2022 edition of IPL has failed to showcase his magic this year. Till now he just took five wickets in 2023.

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Malik has played half the number of matches and just took five wickets this season at an economy of 10.35 after which management decided to bench the young pacer.

Aiming to this issue, former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan commented that it is the franchise, who are not able to handle the Umran’s services.

“I think Umran Malik has not been handled well by the franchise, the way his services should have been utilised by SRH. That is something which was evident,” said Zaheer Khan.

“When you are talking about a young seamer, you are also looking at creating that environment and support. That guidance is required,” Khan, part of JioCinema’s expert panel, said. “Unfortunately, that was not seen from SRH and that is why he has had the season that he’s had this year.”

Mohammed Shami (23 wickets) and Mohammed Siraj (16 wickets) this season have also made an impression on Khan. He further said that bowlers like them are setting example and are not getting caught up in the format.

“It has been a treat to watch them operate,” Khan said. “They’ve kept things simple, which I believe is required. It is the right way of approaching the powerplay. And it is great to see bowlers (like Shami and Siraj) setting that kind of example, simplifying things and not getting caught up in the format. That’s something which always works — sticking to a good line and length, being brave in pitching the ball up and looking to extract some swing.”