Cricket: Umran Malik - The speedster of Indian Cricket

Cricket: We have heard of fairy tales in Disney stories but one such fairy and dreamy story is of Umran Mallik a resident of Jammu Kashmir. Bowling at serious speed and making batsmen feel uncomfortable with his pace is what has earned him his reputation. Fiery and exuberant with energy on the field while being extremely humble owing to his modest family background off the field is what defines Umran Malik - For more IPL and Cricket news follow 99Runs

The son of a vegetable and fruit vendor Abdul Malik who resides in Gujjar Nagar, Umran was the youngest of the siblings and had the penchant for cricket from a very young age. Having two elder sisters who shielded him, particularly Shehnaaz, was all the support he needed to shine bright like the morning star. A class X dropout like the great Sachin Tendulkar, he was well aware from the beginning about the fact that academia is not his forte and the thing that could help him shoulder the responsibility of the family was sports.

Also read: International Cricket: Nicholas Pooran named as West Indies limited overs skipper

He never had formal training in his early days due to lack of facilities and his economical constraints however it did not stop him from playing Tennis ball tournaments where he would outperform the other kids. Playing in these tournaments ensured that he was getting to play and the cash prizes ensured that he returned home with something he could handover to his Ammi.

At 17, he joined the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council. Initially the training did take a toll at him since he wasn’t accustomed to such discipline but steadily, he caught up to enter the U-19 team in 2018. He then also got the chance to play the Cooch Behar Trophy but didn’t perform to his potential.