"Takes away cheque for fastest delivery, but doesn't concede below 40 runs" - Aakash Chopra on SRH pacer Umran Malik in IPL 2022
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra believes Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) speedster Umran Malik will need to bring control to his bowling to partner his raw pace. The 22-year-old was retained by SRH ahead of IPL 2022 and is certainly one of the upcoming Indian talents to watch out for.
However, he has leaked runs at an economy rate of 10.43 so far this season. Aakash Chopra reckons raw pace is of no use if there is no control and Malik will need to learn to be economical.
In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Aakash Chopra had to say about SRH's bowling attack ahead of their match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR):
"Umran Malik takes away the cheque for the fastest delivery, but he doesn't concede below 40 runs in a game. He will need to try and be a bit more economical. Bhuvneshwar [Kumar] will need to start well and there will be a responsibility on him and [T] Natarajan to bowl well at the death."
The method behind the madness Umran Malik unleashes with the ball. 🗣️🧡
#SRHvKKR #OrangeArmy #ReadyToRise #TATAIPL https://t.co/x9kqAuAWeZ
Don't understand the strength of this SRH team: Aakash Chopra
Although SRH will play KKR on the back of two consecutive wins, Aakash Chopra has his reservations about the strength of the side. They will also be without one of their better performers in Washington Sundar for this clash. The 22-year-old split the webbing of his bowling hand and will miss the next two games.
On this, Chopra stated:
"I don't understand the strength of this SRH team, whether it's batting or the bowling. I didn't expect them to beat CSK and Gujarat Titans. But the problem is they don't have Washington Sundar. They weren't using him well in the first place."
Aakash Chopra also feels the Sunrisers need to back their retained all-rounder Abdul Samad. Samad was dropped after two games, but the 44-year-old feels he can provide them with batting depth and can also bowl a few overs. He added:
"There are some left handers in KKR team so you can try bowling [Aiden] Markram a few more overs and think of playing your retained player in Abdul Samad. You can get a few overs from Samad and also from Abhishek Sharma."
Hyderabad's bowling will certainly be tested against a KKR batting line-up that has a number of power-hitters. It will be interesting to see how the Orange Army deals with the likes of Andre Russell.