IPL 2022: Lahore Qalandars owner claims SRH pacer Umran Malik’s rise is inspired by Haris Rauf’s journey

Lahore Qalandars' owner drew parallels between Umran Malik and Haris Rauf.

Umran Malik | BCCI-IPLSunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) pacer Umran Malik, a Jammu and Kashmir native, has taken the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) by storm with his raw pace and his ability to take wickets. So far, the 22-year-old has picked up 10 wickets in 7 matches at an economy of 8.23.

In the league, Malik and Lockie Ferguson have been consistently clocking the speed of 150 kmph. Dale Steyn, the SRH bowling coach, has stated that the young pacer will most certainly play for India in the near future.

See Also: “He bowls one and knocks the batsman over in the nets”, Dale Steyn lauds Umran Malik

Meanwhile, Sameen Rana, the owner of the Lahore Qalandars franchise in the Pakistan Super League, has drawn a striking parallel between the Indian youngster and Pakistan bowler Haris Rauf, stating that the PSL had succeeded in inspiring Indian cricket through the latter's inspiring journey.

Rauf was chosen by the Lahore team in 2018 despite having no first-class experience. He made his domestic debut a year later and was named to the Pakistan squad in 2020.

Rana said on paktv.tv that Umran's climb to stardom in the IPL 2022 was totally inspired by Haris' journey, and that it was the Lahore Qalandars who managed to inspire Indian cricket to do so.

“I am very happy that Lahore Qalandars have not just impressed Pakistan cricket but also Indian cricket. If you look at Umran Malik's story, you will see that it has been a Haris-Rauf-inspired story. Maybe they had followed Haris' story and must have thought if it can happen in Pakistan, then why not in India. Because there are a lot of similarities. Both started from white-ball cricket, are from Jammu and Kashmir, no background in first-class cricket," he said. 

Malik bowled a very economical spell against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), conceding only 13 runs in four overs while also dismissing Shahbaz Ahmed. 

“I have never seen that happen in IPL before. And it happened until Haris, who became a success and gave others a new pathway. I hope it doesn't happen to Umran, but we were criticized a lot when Haris was in our team that we killed domestic cricket and affected the sport. But today, he is Pakistan's pride. When he goes abroad and plays for teams like Yorkshire, they call him 'Pakistani superstar'. So we have given cricketers a new pathway and I want to take credit for that,” Rana added further.

(HT INPUTS)

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 25 Apr, 2022

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