Umran Malik IPL Stats, Price, Runs, Age, Century, Debut, Team
Umran Malik is the fastest bowler India has produced in the IPL era, a tearaway quick from Jammu who turned raw pace into one of the great breakout stories of the 2022 season. Signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2021 as a Covid replacement for T Natarajan, he barely played that year, but his sheer speed in those three matches was enough for the franchise to retain him for Rs 4 crore. What followed was a season that made the whole country sit up.
In 2022, Malik took 22 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 20.18, finished fifth in the tournament’s wicket-taking charts, won the Emerging Player of the Season award and earned an India call-up. Along the way he clocked 157 kph against Chennai Super Kings, the fastest delivery by an Indian in IPL history at the time, and produced a devastating five-wicket haul against Gujarat Titans.
Since that peak, his career has been a battle with form and fitness. Released by Sunrisers Hyderabad after lean 2023 and 2024 seasons, he was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 75 lakh in the 2025 mega auction, only to miss the entire season with a hip injury. KKR kept faith and retained him for 2026, and a fit-again Umran returned to domestic cricket with wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, setting up a genuine comeback story.
Umran Malik IPL Career Overview
Across his IPL career, Umran has played 26 matches and taken 29 wickets at an average of 26.62, with best figures of 5 for 25. Those headline numbers are heavily shaped by one season: his 2022 campaign alone accounts for 22 of those wickets, taken at 20.18 with an economy of 9.03. It remains the gold standard for what express pace can do in the IPL when the lines are right.
His career economy rate of around 9.10 tells the other side of the story. Genuine pace is expensive when it goes wrong, and his 2023 season, five wickets in eight matches at an economy of 10.85, showed how quickly T20 batters can line up a one-dimensional quick. The 2024 season brought just one match, a single over that cost 15 runs, and then came the long injury layoff.
Auction History and Price
Umran’s price history mirrors his career arc perfectly. He joined Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2021 as an uncapped Covid replacement for T Natarajan on a modest deal, and his raw pace in just three matches convinced the franchise to retain him for Rs 4 crore ahead of the 2022 season, a huge show of faith in a bowler with almost no first-class experience.
SRH kept him at Rs 4 crore through 2023 and 2024 as well, but after two lean seasons they released him. Kolkata Knight Riders picked him up for his base price of Rs 75 lakh in the 2025 mega auction, a bargain for a bowler of his ceiling. A hip injury ruled him out of the entire 2025 season, with Chetan Sakariya named as his replacement, but KKR retained him at the same Rs 75 lakh for 2026, betting on his recovery.
Season-by-Season Performance
| Season | Team | Matches | Wickets | Economy | Best | Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 3 | 2 | 8.00 | — | Debut as Covid replacement; kept as India net bowler |
| 2022 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 22 | 9.03 | 5/25 | Breakthrough; Emerging Player award; 157 kph |
| 2023 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 8 | 5 | 10.85 | — | Struggled with consistency |
| 2024 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 1 | 0 | 15.00 | 0/15 | One over in the whole season |
| 2025 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 0 | 0 | — | — | Missed with hip injury |
| 2026 | Kolkata Knight Riders | — | — | — | — | Retained at Rs 75 lakh |
The 2022 row is the outlier that defines him: 22 wickets in 14 matches, fifth among all bowlers in the tournament, and a strike rate that made him SRH’s most dangerous weapon in the middle overs.
Bowling Style and Strengths
Umran is a right-arm fast bowler who operates in a range Indian cricket rarely produces: consistently above 145 kph, regularly touching 150 kph, and capable of the 155-157 kph thunderbolts that made him famous. His action is slingy and explosive, generating pace from a whippy arm rather than a classical tall release, which makes his fastest balls skid through at uncomfortable heights.
His greatest strength is also his biggest challenge. At full tilt he can rush any batter in the world, and his bouncer is a genuine wicket-taking ball. But express pace with imperfect control bleeds runs in T20 cricket, and his development as a bowler has centred on adding variations, the wide yorker and the slower ball, without losing the speed that makes him special. Mentored early by Irfan Pathan in Jammu and Kashmir cricket and later by Dale Steyn as SRH’s bowling coach, he has had fine teachers.
Key Performances
The spell that announced him remains the 5 for 25 against Gujarat Titans in the 2022 season, a display of sustained hostility that blew away one of the strongest batting line-ups of the tournament. It is still his only five-wicket haul in the IPL and the best figures of his career.
Just as famous is the 157 kph delivery he bowled to Chennai Super Kings in Pune during that same season, the third-fastest ball by an Indian in IPL history at the time and a number that flashed around the world on social media. His 22-wicket 2022 season, which included regular 150 kph-plus spells, earned him the Emerging Player of the Season award and a fast-tracked India debut.
Umran Malik India Career
Umran’s IPL form translated directly into international recognition. He was kept on with the Indian squad as a net bowler after the 2021 IPL, made his T20I debut against Ireland in June 2022, and his ODI debut against New Zealand in November 2022, dismissing Devon Conway for his first wicket. He has played 10 ODIs and 8 T20Is for India, taking 13 and 11 wickets respectively.
His most famous international moment came in January 2023 at Wankhede Stadium, where he clocked 155 kph against Sri Lanka in a T20I, breaking Jasprit Bumrah’s record for the fastest ball bowled by an Indian in international cricket. His last India appearance came in July 2023, and a strong IPL comeback is his clearest route back into the national setup.
Teams Played For
Umran’s IPL story belongs overwhelmingly to Sunrisers Hyderabad, who gave him his debut in 2021, retained him for Rs 4 crore, stood by him through four seasons and built their pace attack around him at his peak. He played all 26 of his IPL matches for the franchise across the 2021 to 2024 seasons.
Kolkata Knight Riders are the second chapter: bought for Rs 75 lakh in 2025, injured before he could play a game, replaced by Chetan Sakariya, but retained for 2026. Sunil Narine has publicly backed him as KKR’s potential X-factor, a sign of how highly the franchise rates raw pace.
FAQs
When did Umran Malik make his IPL debut?
Umran made his IPL debut in 2021 for Sunrisers Hyderabad, joining as a Covid replacement for T Natarajan. He played three matches that season and took two wickets.
What is the fastest ball Umran Malik has bowled in the IPL?
He clocked 157 kph against Chennai Super Kings in Pune during the 2022 season, the fastest delivery by an Indian in IPL history at the time.
What are Umran Malik’s best bowling figures in the IPL?
His best figures are 5 for 25 against Gujarat Titans in the 2022 season, his only five-wicket haul in the IPL.
Which was Umran Malik’s best IPL season?
The 2022 season, when he took 22 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 20.18, finished fifth in the wicket-taking charts and won the Emerging Player of the Season award.
Which team does Umran Malik play for now?
He plays for Kolkata Knight Riders, who bought him for Rs 75 lakh in the 2025 mega auction and retained him for 2026 after he missed the 2025 season with a hip injury.
Rivcky John
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