Irrespective of the form, he still has enough to offer, all thanks to his high pace.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) retained as many as six players before the IPL 2025 auction and spent INR 69 crores. Thus, their budget was relatively constrained compared to most other teams, which went in with huge cash to spend. Due to their budget, KKR were compelled to settle with a few non-performers.
Still, they did a decent job in the auction to form a quality squad that will compete hard again. While Venkatesh Iyer’s acquisition was a major highlight, KKR also purchased a few solid budget picks who could be game-changers. Their recent mediocre performances reduced their value in the auction, and KKR was smart to get a few of them, knowing how they could contribute when at their peak.
One of them is the express speedster Umran Malik, who was with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the previous cycle. KKR bought him for his base price of INR 75 Lakhs during the IPL 2025 auction. With SRH, his price was INR 4 crore, but the slump in his auction amount depicts his recent downfall.
When Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Umran Malik for INR 4 crores before IPL 2022, they had high expectations, and rightly so. To his credit, he performed exceptionally well in that season and proved his selection right. He took 22 wickets at 20.18 runs apiece, and while his economy (9.03) was high, Umran did his job by providing breakthroughs in IPL 2022.
The main point was his middle-over bowling, where he took 19 of 22 wickets at a 19.78 average. However, Umran couldn’t continue his encouraging work in the following seasons. In eight outings in 2023, he took only 5 wickets, conceding 10.85 runs per over, and was dropped midway through the season.
Then, in the 2024 edition, Umran got only one game, where he bowled a solitary over for 15 runs. A promising start led him nowhere because he couldn’t control his pace and kept spraying it all around. Hence, SRH released him before the auction, especially because he was capped.
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Umran Malik hasn’t been at his best in the last couple of seasons, but he has an essential weapon in his armour – pace. Umran is a pacer who can bowl at a high pace and agitate batters with his shorter-length deliveries. Hence, he will be an ideal enforcer in the middle overs who will bend his back and keep batters on the backfoot.
In the previous cycle, he played this role for Sunrisers Hyderabad, even though he got limited chances in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Few Indian speedsters are as quick as Umran, which tempts the team to have him. Teams spend a huge sum to have an enforcer in their squads and can go after overseas options.
But Umran doesn’t take the overseas slot and does the same role. Irrespective of the form, he still has enough to offer, all thanks to his high pace. That speed is good enough a reason to take a risk with him.
If we look at KKR’s options, they have Harshit Rana and Andre Russell as their enforcers. They also bowl well in the death overs and can do the heavy lifting after the powerplay. So, Umran’s chances to get in the XI are slim.
However, Harshit is slightly injury-prone and can crumble at times. Even if he is fit, KKR can rest him for a few games to manage his injury. That should open the door for Umran Malik.
Hence, he might act as a backup but will get to hone his skills while working with Dwayne Bravo. Bravo specialises in helping young players solve their issues and become as threatening as before. So, there’s still a positive for Umran, even if he doesn’t get enough chances in IPL 2025.
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