‘I also need some overs to heat up my batteries’ – Umran Malik’s blunt response to Aiden Markram’s ‘behind the scene' remark

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) speedster Umran Malik provided a straightforward remark on his limited opportunities in the ongoing IPL 2023. Notably, the orange outfit is languishing at the bottom of the IPL Points Table and will be gunning to obtain a favorable result against Mumbai Indians (MI) in their final assignment.

In the midst of the season, speedster Umran has been one of the players who has failed to obtain too many opportunities. Warming the bench in most of the fixtures, Umran expressed that he put in the hard yards despite not making it to the setup ahead of the clash against the five-time winners.

“Last year, I played all games and bowled all overs. This time, I bowled fewer overs and took 5 wickets only. When I wasn't playing, I was putting on the hard work. I hope to perform better today (against MI),” Umran was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

For the unversed, skipper Aiden Markram made a rather peculiar remark on the pacer’s exclusion from the setup following the match against RCB on May 18, which garnered a lot of attention.

“Not too sure to be honest (about Umran). Certainly, he's a player with the X factor, bowls at 150kph, but I don't really what's about behind the scenes but he has a lot of X factor,” told Markram during the post-match presentation.

Umran subtly responded to Markram’s statements with a straightforward remark regarding his pace, stating that he would require a few overs to come all guns blazing. Speaking about his campaign, Umran has featured in eight matches and has collected a meagre five wickets at a dismal average economy of 10.35.  

"I don't think my pace is impacted. If I bowl only two overs... I also need some overs to heat up my batteries and get that pace up. I'm trying to bowl the right lines with good speed, and with some variations. When the team needs wickets, I target wickets. Otherwise, I try to curb the flow of runs,” he added.