Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team management has come under the scanner for how it handled tearaway pacer Umran Malik in the ongoing IPL season.
Malik featured in only seven matches in IPL 2023 and his last appearance came on April 29 against Delhi Capitals.
Amid the outrage, SRH head coach Brian Lara on Monday (May 15) justified Umran’s exclusion from the team’s playing XI, citing that the speedster has been out of form in IPL 16.
Umran Malik, who took the IPL by storm last year because of his sheer pace, has picked up five wickets at an economy rate of 10.35 in IPL 2023.
"You just have to look at the form of the player. We have great expectations of Umran, and he has got Dale Steyn to work with. But we have to play each game to win. We have to put our best eleven out on the field. And now, with the Impact Player, our best 12. It's strictly on the fact that it's about the form of the player that we look at before picking the team," Lara said in the post-match press conference after SRH’s 34-run loss to GT.
Brian Lara added that another talented young pacer, Kartik Tyagi, has got only one opportunity this season.
"We have 25 players, and I would have liked you to ask about (Kartik) Tyagi because he is also a special talent and he's only had one opportunity so far. I can't see anything wrong in terms of selection. I just feel that every time the team gets on to the park, we are not playing the game that we are supposed to," he stated.
After losing to GT, Sunrisers Hyderabad were eliminated from the IPL 2023 season. They are currently occupying ninth spot in the 10-team standings, with 8 points from 12 games.
Coming to the match, the defending champions piled up 188/9 in their allotted 20 overs on the back of opener Shubman Gill’s maiden IPL hundred (101 off 58 balls).
Defending the total, GT restricted SRH to 154/9. Besides Shami, medium-pacer Mohit Sharma also bowled exceptionally well, finishing with the figures of 4 for 28 in his four overs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will play Mumbai Indians in their last league match at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday (May 21).
