'Dhoop ho, chhav ho, isne mehnat kabhi nahi chhodi'- Umran Malik's father opens up on his son's rise in Cricket

Umran Malik has become the talk of the town with the constant speed due to his searing pace. The Hyderabad team has shown a lot of trust in the youngster in the Indian T20 League, and, so far, he has been able to deliver.

The 22-year old on Sunday proved why he makes a strong case to be in the Indian team. In the game against Punjab, he bowled a maiden 20th over and took three wickets in the over. His spell restricted Punjab to a score of 151 runs, and Hyderabad chased it down with ease.

Rashid Malik, Umran Malik's father, recently spoke about his son's cricketing journey. He said that his bowling action comes naturally to him and that he hasn't done anything special for that.

"His bowling action and pace are all natural. He has not done any special training or additional work on that. It comes naturally. He used to practice with a Cosco tennis ball. And it is what it is," Rashid said in a chat with News18 Cricketnext.

"He always used to believe in himself as an individual that he wanted to succeed in his life. He is playing IPL today and we hope that with God’s grace he would represent India soon and will make the whole nation proud," he added. Notably, Umran Malik was selected as the net bowler for the Indian team for the T20 World Cup that concluded last year.

Speaking of his son's retention by the Hyderabad team for the 2022 season, Rashid said that Umran wanted to stay back with the team. He also wished that his son makes the team and everyone proud of his performance.

"It was a great feeling; we would like to thank SRH to retain him and giving him an opportunity. And Umran also wanted to stay back with the team. Sunrisers had faith in him and Umran came as a player and live up to the expectations. We as parents also want him to perform well for his team and make himself and everyone proud," he said

Rashid added that he would practice and work hard day and night to reach where he is today. He further stated that Umran did not neglect his education to pursue cricket and that he simply practiced after school hours.

"It’s all his hard work that has taken him to the IPL. Na din ko sota tha, na raat ko sota tha. Dhoop ho, chhav ho, isne mehnat kabhi nahi chhodi (He hardly slept in a day. Ne never stopped working hard regardless of the conditions).

"He was interested in cricket since his childhood, he always wanted to be a cricketer. We never stopped him to do so. He was also good at his studies and regularly went to school. After school hours, he used to go to play cricket. His mother has supported him throughout. Whatever he needed for cricket, we made sure he gets that. Whatever he is today, is only because of his passion," he concluded.