Kolkata, Nov 28: Express pacer Umran Malik has started dreaming of wearing India colours again after returning from an injury lay-off, and for that he banks on his inherent ability to breach 150 kmph barrier and the new add-ons like slower balls and a sharper yorker.
Malik has been away from the Indian team since July 2023 for multiple reasons after taking 24 wickets across 10 ODIs and 8 T20Is, but the setbacks have not affected his spirit.
“Let me tell you one thing. Those who bowl 150 are not strike bowlers, they are attacking bowlers. They will be hit for 30 (runs) in four (overs) but will also give you wickets. A fast bowler is like that. He should know what he has to do,” Umran told select media after J&K’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh here on Friday.
“A bowler who bowls at 150 knows that he is a king and he has to back himself. Not everyone can bowl 150kph. It takes real guts to bowl at 150kph and I have been doing this for the last five years,” he added.
He stressed that bowling at that pace is not something one can achieve with hard work.
“Bowling 150kph is an art, you can’t go directly from 137 to 145. Do training, do whatever you want — this is natural, this is all natural.
You need to train yourself accordingly, eat properly, rest properly, keep your body fresh so that you’re ready for the process tomorrow.
“Speed is my natural aspect, how can I compromise on that? Training, running, cardio –you have to maintain. There is no special diet. Pace is my strength. I have to regain my strength.” ‘I am the only one who bowls 150’
Umran, who clocked 156.7kph in IPL 2024, but has since battled multiple injuries and illness, said he never doubted his ability or his future.
“It is not that I will feel bad mentally. I know that I will do well now. I will come back to the India team. I have confidence in myself because I am the only one who bowls at 150.
“But now I am bowling slower (balls) as well, which I am working on, and also the yorker. I am doing that in red-ball formats too, I’m working hard there.
“The rest is up to the selectors when they let me play. I am doing better now. Playing again for India is my aim now,” he said.
Getting a spot in the rich-in-talent Indian white ball bowling unit was not easy, but Umran remained unfazed.
“When I was playing earlier, there was this much competition. Now also the competition is the same. I don’t think there is any competition.
“When I am fully fit and take wickets like this, why won’t they let me play? They will let me play if I take wickets. That’s it.” Small targets .
The 26-year-old pacer said his immediate goal is simple — being the highest wicket-taker for J&K in SMAT.
“I have a simple target: to play all matches (for his home state) and become the highest wicket-taker for my team in Syed Mushtaq Ali.” Umran already has five wickets from two matches, including 3/37 against UP where he dismissed Aryan Juyal, Karan Sharma and Rinku Singh, troubling them with raw pace.
Injuries are a part and parcel for someone who puts his body on the line to bowl at 150 clicks, but Umran said the setbacks have only deepened the understanding of his body and game.
“Anyone can get injured. Any batsman, bowler, fielder, anyone can get injured. You just have to know how to get out of it.” Asked whether he ever feared for his career, he said: “I never think about my career. I think about what I have to do the next day, what training I have to do — bowling, batting, fielding. It’s all in God’s hands who has a career and who doesn’t.” Umran missed the entire 2024-25 domestic season and IPL 2025 due to recurring injury and illness.
He spent six months at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and has also trained with Abhishek Nayar, the current head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders.
Umran eventually made his comeback to competitive cricket in the Ranji Trophy in a match against Rajasthan after nearly 17 months.
But Umran said he tried to remain in a positive mindset during this tough phase.
“If your mindset is stable, I think you will perform better after the injury. It feels good now that the ball is coming nicely out of my hand. When a bowler has full rhythm after an injury, I think it is best for him.
“I think injury also teaches you a lot of things… your mindset, your body, what to do. If we play cricket for 10 years, there will be injuries. You have to keep your mindset strong. You have to keep those people with you who are positive. You have to stay away from negative people during an injury,” he explained.
Umran dismissed the idea of losing pace with age.
“You can never bowl at 150 directly. You can bowl 138, 140, 142. It starts like that. I think that as long as I play, I should be positive. I don’t want to show pace to anyone. I want to show my wickets.
“Even if I bowl from 150 to 140 after 10 years, it doesn’t mean that I will bowl from 150 to 135 or 130.” On his red-ball aspirations, he said: “There is nothing different. Yes, I am ready to play in all formats.” (Agencies)
