After returning from an injury layoff, express pacer Umran Malik has begun to dream of donning India’s colors once more. To that end, he relies on his innate ability to break through the 150 kmph barrier as well as new additions like slower balls and a sharper yorker.
After capturing 24 wickets in 10 ODIs and 8 T20Is, Malik has been out of the Indian team since July 2023 for a variety of reasons, but the setbacks haven’t depressed him.
“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 media after J&K’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh in Kolkata 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 emphasized that bowling at that speed is not something that can be accomplished with diligence.
“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.”
Umran, who recorded a speed of 156.7 kph in the 2024 Indian Premier League but has since struggled with numerous illnesses and injuries, claimed he never questioned his potential 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.
It has been difficult for Umran to get a spot in the highly skilled Indian white ball bowling unit, but he is undeterred.
“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.”
The 26-year-old pacer stated that his immediate objective is straightforward: to take the most wickets for J&K in the 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 has already claimed five wickets in two games, including 3/37 against UP, where he used his raw pace to dismiss Aryan Juyal, Karan Sharma, and Rinku Singh.
For someone who risks his health to bowl at 150 clicks, injuries are inevitable, but Umran claimed that the setbacks have only improved his knowledge of his body and style of play.
“Anyone can get injured. Any batter, 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.”
Due to persistent illness and injury, Umran missed the entire 2024–2025 domestic season as well as the 2025 Indian Premier League. He trained under Abhishek Nayar, the current head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders, and spent six months at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
After almost 17 months, Umran finally returned to competitive cricket in a Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan.
“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.”
Umran rejected the notion that he would slow down as he grew older.
“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.”
