WATCH: Injury-free Umran Malik clean bowled batters with ease in Buchi Babu Trophy

Umran Malik made a strong comeback after a long injury layoff. Against Odisha, the Jammu and Kashmir cricketer claimed a brace in quick succession. Malik quickly went under the spotlight because of his express speed.

In IPL 2022, the speed star clocked at 156.9 kph during a delivery. But his thunderous form was discounted due to injury concerns. Before the Buchi Babu Tournament, he last played top-flight cricket during the 2024 season. To make himself again available for competitive matches, Umran spent around 6 months in BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru for rehabilitation. During the J&K vs Odisha match of the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament, he first clean bowled Odisha opener OM T Munde.

A fast-paced delivery with the mixture of inswingers knocked down the stumps. Only after a few moments, the pacer took opposition captain Subhranshu Senapati. He had to go back to the pavilion because of an inside edge. Malik finished his spell with 2/35. The right-handed seamer is now confident to make his presence strongly felt in the upcoming Ranji Trophy season as well.

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He missed entire IPL 2025 entirely for injury 

The return of Umran Malik in domestic cricket is encouraging news for Kolkata Knight Riders fans. This was Umran's first appearance since March 2024, when he played for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) against Mumbai Indians in the IPL. After his stint with SRH, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) crashed in for the fast bowler. Though, he ruled out of IPL 2025 because of injury reasons. In his stint with SRH from 2021 to 2024, Umran took 29 wickets in 26 matches at an average of 26.62 and an economy rate of 9.39. 

For Team India, after making his international debut in 2022, he took 13 wickets from 10 ODIs at 30.69.