Umran Malik turned heads in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 with his tearaway pace which also earned him a place in India's squad for the upcoming five-match T20 series against South Africa.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad's speedster had a phenomenal run in the 15th season of IPL as his ability to bowl with a speed of 150kmph is what caught everyone's attention. He bagged the 'fastest delivery of the match' award for 14 times on the trot.
In a match against Delhi Capitals, Malik bowled one of fastest deliveries of IPL i.e 157 kmph as he finished his dream campaign by snaring 22 wickets at an average of 20.18 in a total of 14 matches which also included an exquisite spell of 5/25.
Meanwhile, Australia's pace legend Brett Lee is in awe of young gun Malik and he admitted that he is a fan of his bowling. In the same breath, Lee compared Malik with Pakistan legend Waqar Younis who picked up 373 Test wickets and 416 ODI wickets in his illustrious career.
"I am a big fan. I think Umran Malik has got a lot of pace to burn. He is a competitor, a top guy, who runs in like a lot of fast bowlers in the past. Waqar Younis is the person who comes to mind," Brett Lee said.
Lee also spoke about Virat Kohli's lean patch with the bat. The star Indian batter is battling his career's worst slump, having managed just 341 runs in 16 IPL games. His IPL 2022 ended after Royal Challengers Bangalore's seven-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals in the Qualifier-2.
"I am a massive Kohli fan like a lot of people in the world. I just hope that he really gets his opportunity. He just needs some time out. Spend some time with his family, get reset and hopefully, we can see him scoring some hundreds," said Lee about the former India captain, who endured a subdued IPL season as he scored runs at a below-par average of 22.73 despite opening the innings in most games.
