Umran Malik Fastest Ball: India’s Young Speedster Has a Bright Future

Umran Malik is a young Indian cricketer who has been making waves in the cricketing world with his impressive pace bowling.

He has been turning heads with his bowling speed, and many experts in the sport have touted him as the next big thing in Indian cricket.

Read through for an insight into who Umran Malik is, how his cricketing career came to pass, his achievements, and Umran Malik’s Fastest Ball in his international career.

Who is Umran Malik?

Umran Malik is a member of the current Indian limited-overs cricket team. Malik also represents Jammu and Kashmir in domestic leagues and Team Hyderabad in the Indian T20 League.

He is most renowned for his express bowling speed, especially his 157kmph delivery, which he bowled in the Indian T20 League while representing Team Hyderabad in 2022.

Malik was born on November 22, 1999, and raised in Gajjar Nagar in Jammu and Kashmir, India.

He began playing cricket at a very young age, and after turning 17, ventured into formats beyond gully cricket.

He participated in tennis ball tournaments usually in the evenings and drew massive crowds. Despite batters usually dominating the game, it was Malik who drew all the attention.

Umran made his Indian T20 League debut in 2021 for Team Hyderabad, which only skyrocketed his status in the game.

He would play a full season the next year and make his international debut with the T20I against Ireland.

Later in 2022, he would find a place in India’s ODI team debuting against New Zealand in Auckland.

When Did Umran Malik’s Career Start?

Like other cricketers, Umran Malik had to perform well domestically to earn his international call-up. He began his cricket career playing for the Jammu and Kashmir’s under-19 teams.

He was noticed by a few visiting selectors, thanks to his raw pace and ability to swing the ball at high speeds.

He made his List A debut for Jammu and Kashmir on February 27, 2021, against Bengal, registering figures of 10-0-98-1 in a losing cause.

However, it was in the Indian T20 League where Malik first made his first impression. For the 2021 edition, he was bought by Team Hyderabad for 20 lakh rupees.

Though he would play only 3 matches that year, he would clock 150 kmph a few times, but had a forgettable tournament. He, however, would earn praise from Virat Kohli.

Malik, then, announced his arrival in the subsequent season in 2022. Team Hyderabad retained him for 4 crores turning him into one of the mainstays in their bowling attack.

Umran played 14 matches that year and claimed 22 wickets at the economy rate of 9.03 registering best figures of 5/25 against Team Gujarat with their captain Hardik Pandya being one of his scalps.

Despite his efforts, Hyderabad ended eighth on the Indian T20 League table.

By this time, Malik was seen as a potential candidate to debut for India. That day came on June 26, 2022, when Hardik Pandya would include him in the T20I match against Ireland.

The seamer would bowl just one over, conceding 14 runs without any wicket to his name. He would play the 2nd T20I and claim his first international wicket while conceding 42 runs.

Umran’s ODI debut was a few months after he took the pitch against New Zealand on November 25, 2022. In a losing cause, he would register figures of 10-0-66-2.

Though he has not yet made his Test match debut, he has the backing of several former cricketers, including former India coach Ravi Shastri, who believes Malik will be a ‘handful’ in the longer format.

Umran Malik Fastest Ball in Indian T20 League

Umran Malik is arguably the fastest bowler in world cricket today. Bowling fast is something that the J&K lad loved doing and his efforts to improve have rightfully earned him a spot in the national team.

Even before making a lasting impact in the Indian T20 League, Umran had consistently bowled 150 kmph deliveries in the 2021 edition.

But 2022 is when he cranked it up a notch, reaching 154 kmph against Team Chennai and later 156 kmph against Team Delhi during their May 5 match.

Today, Umran Malik’s fastest ball in IPL 2022 stands at 157 kmph, which he bowled in the same match versus Delhi.

In the same edition of the Indian T20 League, New Zealand player Lockie Ferguson would beat the Umran Malik IPL fastest ball by delivering one at 157.3 kmph.

A relentless Malik tried his best to upstage Ferguson during the edition but by the end, he would remain the second-quickest.

Umran Malik’s Fastest Delivery in International Cricket

Now, it is no secret that Pakistan’s former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar holds the record for bowling the quickest ball at the international level at 161.3 kmph.

Ever since Umran Malik bowled the 157 kmph delivery in the Indian T20 League, he has drawn comparisons to some of the greatest pacers in the game, including Akhtar.

Although he has not yet sped ahead of the Pakistani great, Umran did register his fastest ball, recorded at 156 kmph, against Sri Lanka in January of 2023.

It was the first game of the 3-match ODI series. There were, however, reports of problems with the speedometer malfunctioning, and as a result, the speed is considered void.

Nevertheless, Malik still has his fastest international delivery officially registered as 155 kmph, which he bowled during the same tour, but in a T20I game against the Asian neighbours.

With that ball, he eclipsed the previous record-holder and teammate Jasprit Bumrah (153.3 kmph).

Conclusion

It is not every day that India produces the fastest bowler in international cricket. Umran Malik fastest ball in IPL is rare and he comes with great potential to become one of the greats of the game.

Though often times, he struggles with accuracy, his raw pace has turned him into a sensation. As Malik continues to grow and develop skills, there is no doubt that he will become a vital member of the Indian cricket team.