The franchise has underutilised the speedster in the season mainly due to his poor economy.
Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered a seven-wicket defeat at home against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) earlier today, as their poor run extended in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023) season. This loss dealt a significant blow to their chances of making the playoffs, as they now sit in ninth place on the table with only eight points from 11 matches.
Although Sunrisers Hyderabad had a strong performance, their fortunes took a turn for the worse when an experiment by Aiden Markram backfired. With 69 runs needed in the final five overs, Markram brought on part-time spinner Abhishek Sharma, who conceded 31 runs in six deliveries, reducing the equation to 38 runs required in 24 balls.
Eventually, Lucknow successfully chased down the 183-run target with four balls to spare as Abhishek’s decisive over drew significant criticism as well as Markram’s leadership skills. IPL commentator and former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan was also unimpressed with the move. In fact, following the match, Pathan expressed confusion over another issue involving Umran Malik, which has left the ex- Indiacricketer “baffled.”
Irfan made a valid point regarding Umran, who was one of the two retained domestic talents by the franchise for ₹4 crore before the IPL 2021 mega auction. However, the franchise has not utilized the Jammu and Kashmir speedster effectively this season, mainly due to his poor economy rate.
“League’s fastest bowler sitting out baffles me. Umran Malik wasn’t handled well by his team,” he tweeted.
League’s fastest bowler sitting out baffles me. Umran Malik wasn’t handled well by his team.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 13, 2023
Umran has appeared in seven matches this season and has given away 176 runs in the 17 overs he has bowled, with an economy rate of 10.35. Although he has taken five wickets, his best figures this season are 2/32.
With another subpar season on the horizon, SRH’s chances of making it to the playoffs are dwindling.
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