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Umran Malik through his family’s eyes: Toddler who loved ball now gunning for Shoaib’s record

SunRisers Hyderabad pacer’s father Abdul Rashid runs a fruit & vegetable stall in Jammu. He says he’ll continue to do so, because he doesn’t want IPL success to go to son’s head.

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Jammu: The first of May is not turning out to be the best day for Seema Begum. She sits on the floor, anxious, hands clasped, lips moving in prayer, gaze fixed on the TV screen, where the apple of her eye, her 22-year-old son, is playing in the IPL match between SunRisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings.

Seema Begum does not understand the game, nor does she recognise the players. All she is waiting for is for Umran Malik to take a wicket with his express pace, as has become the norm throughout the tournament. But on this day, it’s not to be. Every time a boundary is scored off his bowling, her face drops, and her lips move faster in dua.

Mujhe chinta ho rahi hai (I am worried),” she says, turning to her husband, Abdul Rashid Malik, who is sitting beside her.

He smiles and comforts her, reminding her that in the SunRisers’ previous game, on 28 April, Umran had taken five wickets and been named man of the match, despite the fact that his team lost to the Gujarat Titans.

“Cricket mein har din ek jaisa nai hota. Pichhli dafaa usne 5 wicket lee thi. Chinta mat kar. Yeh dekh ki woh Dhoni ko ball daal raha hai (every day is not the same in cricket. He took five wickets last time. Don’t worry. Just see, he is bowling to M.S. Dhoni),” Rashid says.

Seema Begum does not seem convinced with the argument.

Soon, the right-arm speedster delivers a thunderbolt at 154 kmph, the fastest ball of this edition of the IPL, and that changes the scene in the room, cheering up the entire family. The commentators are all praise, and finally, Seema Begum’s face lights up too. The moment Umran’s image comes on the screen, she smiles and says proudly, “That is our son”. And with her day made, it is now time for her to break her Ramzan fast.

***

Four days later, on 5 May, against the Delhi Capitals, Malik bowls an even faster delivery, 157 kmph.

It is about 2 kmph faster than his stated intent before the tournament — of breaking 155 kmph.

Umran Malik celebrates after taking a wicket in IPL 2022 | Photo: ANI via IPL Twitter
Umran Malik celebrates after taking a wicket in IPL 2022 | Photo: ANI via IPL Twitter

If this were an international match, Umran’s delivery would’ve been the fastest by an Indian ever, breaking Irfan Pathan’s 153.7 kmph against Pakistan in the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007. In IPL history, only Australian Shaun Tait’s 157.7 kmph thunderbolt in 2011 was faster.

What’s more, it is just 4.3 kmph short of Shoaib Akhtar’s world record for the fastest recorded delivery in international cricket, 161.3 kmph.

And that’s where Umran, according to his proud parents, has his eyes set — becoming the fastest bowler in world cricket.

With a rhythmic run-up, compact jump, long stride, strong landing, robust wrist position and almost endless stamina according to those who know him best, he’s well on his way towards achieving his goal. And along the way, he has made fans of some of the legends of the game — the likes of Sunil Gavaskar cannot stop waxing eloquent about him on commentary whether or not he’s playing in the game at hand.

Before the IPL came calling with its big bucks and bigger platform, there was just a buzz around Jammu that one Umran Malik from Gujjar Nagar locality, the son of a fruit and vegetable seller, is blindingly fast. But no one knew how fast that was in kilometres per hour, because there’s no speed gun in this cricketing backwater of a city.

“Now we know he’s bowling so fast that he’s breaking all records. We are not amazed. He will soon make an international record,” says his friend Ateeb Tabish.

Dad Abdul Rashid has no doubt either. “In no time, he will play for India and break the international record in fast bowling, inshallah,” he says.


Also read: From Zoozoos to Byju’s, Swiggy, Cred — how IPL ads tell us who’s watching cricket in India


‘Love for the ball’

Umran is one of Seema Begum and Abdul Rashid’s three children—they also have two daughters, one of whom is married and lives away, while the other is a kindergarten school teacher.

The family eagerly shares the story of his “love for the ball”, which began as a toddler. Umran’s small room in the single-storey house is a monument to this love — no posters, no paraphernalia, just some scruffed-up cricket balls, one jersey, and clothes piled up on a chair.

“Umran could not even talk properly, when he picked up the ball and a bat and used to be engaged with it all day. He would stammer and say, ‘I want to be a cricketer’, and we would all laugh,” says Begum.

“I do not recall where he picked up interest in cricket. Maybe it was because of kids at the park. I really cannot believe it when I see him on TV today, playing with all these big cricketers. It is like a dream,” Begum says.

(From right) Umran Malik's father Abdul Rashid, mother Seema Begum, sister Shehnaaz and friend Ateeb Tabish watch the IPL at the family's home in Jammu | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint
(From right) Umran Malik’s father Abdul Rashid, mother Seema Begum, sister Shehnaaz and friend Ateeb Tabish watch the IPL at the family’s home in Jammu | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Rashid recalls that since Umran was 3 years old, “he was crazy about throwing the ball, using all his strength”.

“While he was growing up, he would go to a kachha ground next to a dargah, where he would practice running and throwing the ball all day, even in 46 degrees Celsius heat. His mother often dragged him back home, but he used to sneak out again,” he says with a smile.

“He was not interested in studies much, which often bothered his mother. He used to attend school, tuitions, but his focus was always the ball,” he adds, not seeming to mind the fact that Umran dropped out of school in Class 10.

Rashid recalls Umran playing with a Cosco tennis ball, and people coming up to him and remarking that his son bowled really fast. But the father didn’t pay much attention to it initially, thinking of it as a hobby. Today, he is glad he never stopped Umran from playing.

“He is a fast bowler naturally. I would watch him throw the ball with all his power, run very fast, but never thought it could become a career. We thought that is what kids do. He is strong, so he is good at it. Now, when we see him on the screen, it appears that he is playing in that same park. The only difference is that he has made us all very proud today,” Rashid beams.

Umran’s raw talent was enough to take him from tennis ball cricket to local cricket tournaments, to the Jammu and Kashmir team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare trophies. There, he was noticed by the SunRisers, who picked him as a net bowler in 2020.

But it was during the second leg of IPL 2021, in the UAE, after the first part had been curtailed due to rising Covid cases in India and among the teams, that Umran was drafted in as a replacement player for the India pacer T. Natarajan, who had tested positive for Covid.

Shockingly, the SunRisers went down a different path to the other teams before the mega ‘reset’ auction of 2022, retaining the little known Umran and a few others instead of their big international stars like David Warner and Rashid Khan. And boy, has it paid off, as Umran has helped the Kane Williamson-captained side remain in the top half of the table, and even reel off five consecutive wins at one stage.

Comparisons to Waqar, Lee, Bumrah 

Umran’s coach, Randheer Singh, compares his ward’s action to Pakistani pace legend Waqar Younis, while friends see a bit of Aussie Brett Lee and India’s own Jasprit Bumrah in him.

“His pace is his strength and that is God’s gift to him. Line, length, jump, technique… All of that can be worked on and can be fine-tuned, but the pace he has is a natural gift, which makes him stand apart,” Singh says.

“He used to jump out (while bowling), which was rectified a little by (advice from) Irfan Pathan, but he does have a resemblance with Waqar Younis.  He, however, doesn’t try to imitate anyone,” the coach adds.

Friend Ateeb praises his consistency and his love for fitness, which dad Rashid agrees with.

“He has a lot of stamina and his skill is raw, natural. Jammu usually gets very hot. The temperature crosses 46 degrees, but Umran used to play in the ground even in the afternoons in peak summer. His mother would often tell him that he shouldn’t be out in the sun for so long as he would fall sick, but he wouldn’t listen. I think that is what made him this strong and fast,” Rashid says.

Rashid also points out that since their house is near the river Tawi, the area where Umran practiced was primarily sandy. Running on that surface is what made his lower body strong.

“He has never gone to the gym or taken any special diet. It is his practice, strength and stamina he built running over the sandy surface that is now benefitting him,” he says.

Father and friends also agree that no one taught him how to bowl fast — he would watch videos of Brett Lee and Bumrah in particular, but no training.

Umran Malik's friend Ateeb Tabish | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint
Umran Malik’s friend Ateeb Tabish | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

“I was always certain that he would play the IPL. For hours, he would watch videos of Brett Lee, not to imitate him, but learn the technique — hand and wrist movement, how he used his legs,” Ateeb says. “He also wants to swing the ball like Bumrah does, and master the yorker. That is his aim. Before he left for the IPL, he told me that he would return after becoming the fastest bowler in India, and now he is breaking his own record every day.”


Also read: A vision for IPL 2.0 — how BCCI’s cash cow can become the world’s top sporting league


Dad plans to continue selling veggies & fruits

Packing away vegetables for a customer at his stall, Rashid makes it clear he won’t leave his small business any time soon, as he doesn’t want success and fame to go to Umran’s head.

Abdul Rashid with a customer at his fruit and vegetable stall | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint
Abdul Rashid with a customer at his fruit and vegetable stall | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

“We are a simple family. I’ll continue to do what I am doing, I do not want the success to go to Umran’s head. He has a long way to go. He has to play for India, earn a name for himself. Money is secondary. I am just happy that Allah has been kind to us,” he says.

Small children now come up to Rashid, point at him and say “yeh Umran ke papa hain (this is Umran’s father)”, and that feeling is “unmatched”, he says. When they ask to get clicked with him, he tells them to come back once Umran returns from the IPL.

“I feel shy,” he admits. “I really cannot explain that feeling when children call me Umran Malik’s father. I don’t have words. A lot of people also want to get clicked with me. But I laugh and tell them that they should come back when Umran returns home.”

‘A heart of gold’

Umran was away from the family on Eid — it was two days after the day he was bowling to Dhoni, and two before he hit 157 kmph. But the family is always on his mind, so he messaged his sister Shehnaaz, asking her to buy a pair of “nice chappals” for their father.

“He is playing there under so much stress, but he remembered Abba’s chappals. He messaged me specially, asking me to go to the market myself and buy him a new pair of chappals for Eid,” Shehnaaz says. “I even showed him a few options and we selected a pair for him. That is Umran. He has a heart of gold. He thinks about everyone.”

Shehnaaz with dad Abdul Rashid at his stall | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint
Shehnaaz with dad Abdul Rashid at his stall | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Ask what Umran got her for Eid, and Shehnaaz says: “He kept asking me what I want. I know he has become big, but I told him that I will go for shopping with him once he is back. Right now, he should just concentrate on his game.”

Mother Seema Begum agrees. “He keeps asking me if he should send money. He does transfer it also, so many times, without telling me. But I tell him to just concentrate on his game and not think about all this,” she says.

The Umran Malik effect taking hold in Jammu 

Umran Malik’s success has now inspired many children in Jammu’s neighbourhoods to take up fast bowling. “There is a glamour to it,” coach Randheer Singh says.

Many children now approach Singh asking him to train them in fast bowling.

“Earlier, youngsters wanted to become batsmen or all-rounders, but now everyone wants to become a fast bowler,” he laughs. “There is a glamour, a charm to it.”

“When kids come asking me to train them in fast bowling, I make them run till they are tired. One can aspire to be a fast bowler, but I firmly believe that everyone does not have that pace. That is not something one can be trained for. It is natural, just like Umran has,” he says.

Recalling his first meeting with Umran, Singh says the youngster walked up to him at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu’s Nawabad area and asked for a chance to bowl. The coach agreed, and knew after just two or three deliveries that he had found a diamond.

Soon, Singh asked him to enrol in the Maulana Azad academy, and to be disciplined about his training. Singh also sent him for under-19 trials, where he bowled with borrowed shoes.

Singh recalled a match where the Assam Ranji Trophy team, coached by former India wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra, had come to Jammu for a game. “Ajay asked Umran if he wanted to bowl. But he asked him to stop in just 10 minutes, as he feared that all of them would get injured. He said ‘humne apne bande marwane nahin hai’ (we do not want our players to get killed),” Singh quips.

There is no doubt in coach Singh’s mind that Umran Malik will play for India, and soon.

“We are all waiting to see him in the blue uniform. I am certain he’ll play for India in an international game, and set a new record for the fastest bowler,” he says.

For Umran, that’ll be the perfect culmination of his childhood dream. For now, his near-and-dears are happy to just see him turning heads and knocking out stumps dressed in the SunRisers’ orange.

(Edited by Shreyas Sharma)


Also read: It’s time for a women’s IPL — it’ll grow the game and churn out talented, ‘ready’ players


 

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