Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Jammu & Kashmir pacer Umran Malik, who missed the previous Indian Premier League (IPL) season, has made a resounding comeback. Malik was ruled out of IPL 2025 with injury but now he is turning on the heat in the ongoing Buchi Babu 2025 tournament to push his case for a retention ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.
TKR
–
ABF
–
SLK
–
SKA
–
MIEDM
–
DCDM
–
GGDM
–
DVDM
–
PD
–
SDS
–
EDR
–
CDK
–
NDS
–
NDT
–
CLZ
–
NEZ
–
NTZ
–
EZ
–
BAC
–
TSA
–
UCCB
–
TSA
–
UCCB
–
CLJ
–
BAC
–
TSA
–
UCCB
–
CLJ
–
LKLS
–
CLJ
–
ACB
–
TSA
–
ACB
–
CLJ
–
LKLS
–
CLJ
–
ACB
–
TSA
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
TBC
–
PNG
–
KNY
–
QAT
–
DEN
–
DEN
–
KWT
–
PNG
–
JER
–
CAN
–
NAM
–
GER-W
–
NED-W
–
ITA-W
–
IRE-W
–
MUR
–
NK
–
LLG
–
NWW
–
CAGS
–
KBTS
–
ATR
–
TTS
–
KBTS
–
ATR
–
ARKS
–
ALRS
–
MGD
–
BNB
–
HBT
–
TBC
–
ROS
–
YSG
–
MAT
–
IAI
–
TMB
–
WSS
–
IPS
–
NSBB
–
SGR
–
RLS
–
UOQ
–
WYN
–
SSC
–
SBB
–
TRR
–
BIP
–
SOB
–
WEF
–
TRW-W
–
BIP-W
–
SBW-W
–
WFW-W
–
LUF
–
MEMA
–
GOLS
–
NOSK
–
KASS
–
LUF
–
NOSK
–
KARS
–
Playing for J&K against Odisha, the 25-year-old speedster impressed by two wickets in two balls, shattering the stumps on both the instances. Returning to cricket after a one-year gap, Malik struck in his very first over to dismiss opposition opener OM T Munde. After getting the wicket on the last ball of the over, he dismissed Odisha skipper Subhranshu Senapati on the first ball of his next over.
Check the video of his dismissals below.
ALSO READ:
KKR had spent INR 75 lakhs at the mega-auction last year on Umran Malik but he sustained hamstring and hip injuries that forced him to miss the domestic season 2024-25 and IPL 2025. KKR eventually decided to replace him with Chetan Sakariya.
Going into the IPL 2026 auction, KKR are expected to make quite a few changes after having subpar IPL 2025 where they finished a lowly eighth. However, given the J&K pacer’s express pace and raw talent, a fully recovered Umran Malik can be an asset and KKR wouldn’t want to lose him. He is an out-and-out pacer who can bowl at a high pace and act as an enforcer in the middle overs.
Furthermore, there’s no downside to retaining him since his modest price barely affect KKR’s overall budget and he will be motivated to contribute after the three-time IPL winners supported him during the injury phase.
Since his debut in 2021, the right-arm fast bowler has played only 26 matches and completed just one full season in 2022. His last international game was in 2023 and has since faded from the spotlight. Umran will thus look to re-establish himself as one of the frontline fast bowlers and subsequently get back into the national setup.
