The father, coach, and mentors track the rise and rise of India’s fastest bowler from Jammu & Kashmir.
“No one asks me for extra chillies and coriander leaves. They don’t negotiate prices.” The perks of being the father of the fastest Indian pacer are small but sweet for Abdul Rashid, a fruit seller in Jammu. It’s his son Umran Malik who has been serving up extra chillies in prime time at IPL, a report in the Indian Express says.
Matthew Wade who had swatted away Shaheen Afridi for two stunning sixes to win the T20 world cup for Australia was made to look like a bank clerk sent to the war.
An apprehension-tinged expectation of a bouncer seemingly came first for he had just seen Hardik Pandya experiencing a bouncer from Umran Malik. All thoughts after that would have been afterthoughts for Wade for Malik’s thunderbolt rushed at him, and rammed his pads in a blink. Pandya himself had barely thought about the pull shot as a response but the bouncer had ricocheted off his helmet by then.
Pace scrambles brains, especially when it’s over 150kph variety like Malik unleashes.
That night Malik also won the pace battle against New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson, hurling the top five quickest deliveries in the game, the fastest being 153.3 kph; the next four were — 151.2, 150.1, 149.9, 149.3.
At the IPL 2021, Malik was a nets bowler for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and replaced Natarajan, who was out due to Covid-19. Without the claustrophobia of the nettings, but with the nerves of showtime arc lights showering on him, he produced the second-fastest ball of the tournament, a 152.95 kph brute against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
At the post-match presentation, Virat Kohli led the raves. “Whenever you see talent like this, you are going to have your eyes on them and make sure you maximise their potential.” Malik was soon included in the Indian contingent as a net bowler for the T20 World Cup in Dubai, and was also retained by the Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of this IPL.
Malik’s father Abdul Rashid continues to sell his fruits at Shaheedi Chowk in Jammu’s Gujjar Nagar. “Yes my son has become a household name across the country but that doesn’t mean that I will stop working.”
Rashid feels Umran is no longer only his son since he has become the darling of the entire nation.
“He is now a son of India. Agar Allah ne chaha toh Hindustan ka naam raushan karega (With the grace of god, he will make India proud in the future,” says Rashid, who is offering Namaz ten times (five for his son) in a day during this Ramadan month.
Rapid journey
Malik’s coach, Randhir Singh Manhas, who spotted him for the first time, feels his ward can bowl much faster.
At the IPL 2021, Malik was a nets bowler for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and replaced Natarajan, who was out due to Covid-19. Without the claustrophobia of the nettings, but with the nerves of showtime arc lights showering on him, he produced the second-fastest ball of the tournament, a 152.95 kph brute against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“For someone who started bowling with the leather ball just five years ago, cranking up 150 kph itself is a big achievement. He can certainly bowl quicker in the future, ” Manhas, who works as a coach at Maulana Azad Cricket Stadium in Jammu, tells this newspaper.
Umran’s cricketing journey has been precisely like his bowling — fast. He didn’t have any idea of professional cricket till as late as 2017. One day, along with his best friend Abdul Samad, he went to Randhir Manhaas at the Maulana Azad Cricket Stadium in Jammu. Abdul requested his coach to have a look at his friend, who had already made a name for himself in the Jammu tennis ball circuit. Manhas asked him to bowl and was taken back by his pace. An impressed Manhas asked him to come to the practice every day.
Umran went for the under-19 trials in Jammu on borrowed spike-shoes and was picked for the J&K team. But he got only one match in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, and the game was washed out. Following year, Malik was rejected at the U-23 trials.
Fortunes turned just as it did in the IPL. At the nets. During the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season, Jammu & Kashmir was playing against Assam at the Gandhi Memorial Science College Ground, Jammu. Assam’s coach Ajay Ratra, former India wicketkeeper, asked for some net bowlers. Stepped up Umran Malik.
He bowled only four balls before Ratra stopped him from bowling. Ratra was impressed and was also scared that he might end up injuring one of his top-order batters.
“Many people have helped him, his family, who supported his passion for the game. Abdul Samad, who helped him bag the net bowler contract with the SRH, Ajay Ratra, who pleaded his case, Irfan Pathan, who fast-tracked him into the J&K senior team,” says Manhas.
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