Umran Malik, Jammu and Kashmir pacer, was recently ruled out of the IPL 2025 season despite being picked by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The 25-year-old pacer was once considered the next big thing in Indian cricket, but injuries and poor form derailed his once-promising career.
Umran had a breakthrough season with SRH three years ago, taking 22 wickets, including one that resulted in his India debut. And Dale Steyn, who worked closely with Umran that year, has some fascinating stories about the Indian pacer phenomenon.
Steyn famously referred to Umran as a Ferrari as he smashed the opposition with his raw pace, destroying stumps and sending them cartwheeling.
This partnership worked wonders for a while, as Umran steadily ascended the ranks. During their time together at the Sunrisers' camp, Steyn recounted how Umran once defied his orders to prove him wrong.
During that season of IPL, Steyn, the bowling coach of SRH, noticed that Umran Malik was using the slower ball much less—once every four overs—than veteran pro Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was far more productive with it, bowling 12 of them in four overs.
Steyn clearly wanted Umran to add layers to his bowling and suggested he start with at least two. But the outcome was completely different.
"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. And he ran in, and I turned around, and I said to Murali [Muthiah Muralitharan, 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 said on ESPN Cricinfo's Cricket Monthly.
"The camera turned, and it pointed towards me and Murali as if the coaches had come up with this amazing thing. And 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 155 kph yorker and knocked the stumps out of the ground. Sometimes the stats don't really matter. But there's definitely 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. He just said, This is my skill. I'm going to do this,” Steyn added.
However, since then, Umran lost his place in the SRH XI, and then the franchise released him before IPL 2025. He also lost his place in the Indian team thanks to multiple fitness issues.
Umran had only five wickets in IPL 2023 before going wicketless the next year. Steyn believes that this significant reduction is due in large part to recognizing that the requirements of the team come first.
"Sometimes you get thrown into the scene like the IPL. You come into the ground, and 60,000 people are screaming, and you feel like, oh, I have to run in, and I have to bowl 160 kph an hour, which is great, but if it goes against the game plan and it goes against the run of play, you are going to go for 60-70 [runs], and that's not going to do your team any good. It's not going to do you any good," added Steyn.
