Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn has said that while he thought Umran Malik would be successful while bowling slower deliveries at a certain stage of a game, the youngster proved the legend wrong after bowling a scorcher and rattling the opposition batter’s stumps.
Umran, once considered the next big thing in Indian cricket, is out injured and will miss the upcoming season of IPL 2025.
During the Indian Premier League, Steyn noticed that Umran was using the slower delivery a lot less, once every four overs, compared to senior pro Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was a lot more effective with the same ball.
“This is quite a funny story because I went and I said that to him and he said, ‘Oh, that’s a great point. Thank you very much. If Bhuvi is doing it, I’ll try it.’ And we were sitting in a game in Mumbai and it was the perfect time for him [Umran] to bowl a slow ball,” Steyn said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.
“He ran in and I turned around and I said to Murali [Muthiah Muralidaran, Sunrisers Hyderabad assistant coach], ‘I think he’s going to bowl a slower ball.’ And he ran in and he bowled a yorker and he knocked the stumps out all over the place,” Steyn added.
Steyn said how the cameras then turned towards him, as he was the pace bowling coach of the franchise at that time.
“I was like, you know what, sometimes the master is the guy that’s actually on the field. I’m telling him to bowl a slower ball. And he ran and bowled a gas 155kph yorker and knocked the stumps out of the ground,” Steyn said.
“Sometimes the stats don’t matter. But there’s a place for it in helping players know what other players are also doing that helps them get better. And in that case, it’s something that Umran Malik can certainly work on, but he proved me wrong that day,” Steyn added.
Meanwhile, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders have picked Chetan Sakariya as a replacement for Umran for IPL 2025.
