IPL 2022: “Umran Malik reminded me of the great Waqar Younus,” says former India pacer Irfan Pathan

Umran Malik has impressed everyone with his pace and improved bowling returns in this IPL 2022 season. He got rich praise from every nook and corner of the cricketing world when he cleverly set up Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer with a barrage of short deliveries and then cleaned him up with a toe crushing yorker. He followed up that performance with yet another match-winning bowling spell of 4-1-28-4 against Punjab Kings on Sunday, which includes a three-wicket maiden in the final over of the match as well.

Speaking on Star Sports Network ahead of the match between Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, former India pacer Irfan Pathan recalled the first time he saw Malik in the J&K camp and how he reminded him of the great Waqar Younis.

“The first time I saw him bowl was when I was playing for Jammu and Kashmir and I was the mentor. And watching him bowl reminded me of the great Waqar Younis,” Pathan said.

Malik impressed everyone in the Jammu and Kashmir camp and was recommended by Abdul Samad to the Sunrisers Hyderabad setup. They picked him up as a net bowler ahead of the 2021 season and then eased him into the squad as a replacement for T Natarajan, who was suffering from COVID-19.

The youngster had played only two first-class game, one T20 and a List-A game back then but he took the IPL by storm with his searing pace. He had been bowling regularly above 150 kph since then and has shown even better control this season. Even the likes of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri have sung high praise of him.

Former South African pacer Dale Steyn, who is with the SRH setup as bowling coach this season, is enjoying mentoring Malik a lot as well.

“Umran is fantastic. It (his performances) is no reflection of me at all. It’s all him at the moment. He has got amazing skills, he is showing everybody, bowling 150 kph. I am kind of living through him, wishing I could do it. But it’s all him at the moment. He is certainly somebody whom we should keep an eye on for the future,” Steyn said after the KKR game.