Srinagar: Amid lot of heat and criticism, the underfire J&K pacer Umran Malik has defended himself by pointing out lack of match time and less overs he has to contend with in IPL 2023.
Umran Malik had below par IPL 2023 after having taken IPL 2022 by storm.
On Sunday before Sunrisers Hyderabad final league game of the season against Mumbai Indians, Umran was asked about his views on the way this season went for him.
“Last year, I played all games and bowled all overs. This time, I bowled less overs and took 5 wickets only. When I wasn’t playing, I was putting on the hard work. I hope to perform better today (against MI),” Umran told Murali Kartik ahead of the game against MI.
When Kartik pointed out that Umran’s pace has also not been as fiery as it was last season, the pacer from Jammu & Kashmir argued that he has only been bowling a couple of overs this season which isn’t enough for him to warm up.
“I don’t think my pace is impacted. If I bowl only two overs… I also need some overs to heat up my batteries and get that pace up. I’m trying to bowl the right lines with good speed, and with some variations”.
“When the team needs wickets, I target wickets. Otherwise, I try to curb the flow of runs,” Umran added.
Meanwhile in the match Umran bowled only three overs, conceding a whopping 41 runs without picking a single wicket. In IPL 2023 Umran played only eight games and took only five wickets and economy was way above normal.