IPL 2023: Virender Sehwag Criticizes Sunrisers Hyderabad Pacer Umran Malik's Inconsistent Length Despite Working With Dale Steyn

IPL

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) put an end to their dismal run in the Indian Premier League 2023 after suffering a defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians (MI) in match number 69. With nothing to play for in their last league match, SRH fans hoped for a more determined performance from their team. Despite posting a decent score of 200/5 in the first innings, the side led by Aiden Markram lacked effectiveness in their bowling, allowing MI to chase down the target with 8 wickets in hand in just 18 overs.

Having lost the toss, SRH was asked to bat first. The team made a decision to include Umran Malik in the playing XI, despite his poor form in the previous seven matches of the season. Unfortunately, the young speedster continued to struggle, conceding 41 runs in the three overs he bowled.

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag criticized Malik for his inconsistent line and length, emphasizing that with the guidance of bowling coach Dale Steyn, such mistakes should have been rectified by now.  

“If it were a South African pacer, I could've understood that he wouldn't want to bowl too full. But Umran Malik... the problem is that he keeps shuffling his length. He doesn't have the experience yet. He might have worked a lot with Dale Steyn, but he hasn't really got the idea of his length. Despite working with Steyn for so long and learning under him, he's doing the same mistakes that he did last year,” Sehwag said to Cricbuzz

Sehwag further expressed his disappointment with SRH's bowling performance, emphasizing that taking wickets was the team's only option to defend a total of 200 against Mumbai. However, the SRH bowlers failed to contain the runs and were unable to make crucial breakthroughs. The pacer from Jammu had a disappointing IPL 2023 campaign, managing to take only five wickets in the eight matches he played.