'Umran is on a steep learning curve' - Tom Moody

That he is an exciting prospect for India is a given but the jury is still out on his potential to penetrate into international cricket soon enough. Consistently clocking 150 kmph on the speed gun, Umran Malik has inspired players, peers, pundits, rivals and fans alike but does he command enough trust of his captain and his IPL team management? At the Wankhede on Tuesday (May 17) night, Kane Williamson did not seem to have the trust in him to defend 19 runs in the final over. He preferred an Afghan rookie, instead.

The decision turned out to be a right one, as Fazalhaq Farooqi (21), with four ODIs, three T20Is and only one IPL game behind him, managed to defend those runs as Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Mumbai Indians by three runs in a thrilling encounter. But it raised questions over Malik's ability to control his pace and handle the pressure situations. For the record, he did not do all that badly in the game, returning figures of three for 23 in three overs providing three crucial breakthroughs while the Mumbai Indians were cruising along in their pursuit for 194.

Coach Tom Moody defended the decision saying Umran is not a specialist death overs bowler and it would have been a risky proposition to unleash him in the 20th over. "To expose him when he hasn't had that experience is a high-risk option," the Sunrisers coach said after the game. "Not that he couldn't have done it, he could've probably done it very well, but we went in with a specialist."

The Australian, however, acknowledged the impact the young pacer had on the game. "At the end of the day, Umran has been used as an impact bowler in the middle overs, and he has done that well. He has taken wickets, when we've needed them in the middle of the innings. He's here to hone his skills as a specialist death bowler. When you've got someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Natarajan and Farooqui -- all of whom have the experience of bowling in the death, you've to back those people who have that responsibility and done that."

The general perception among the pundits, coaches and experts is that Umran would be unstoppable if he can learn to move the ball a little and that ability can be assessed only with the red ball as the Kookaburra white ball is no barometer to judge him on that count. With his raw pace, he can be unstoppable if he can learn the art of moving at that pace.

Umran bowled three fiery overs in the match, although not in a spell. After looking listless in the first over, in which Mumbai Indians scored 17 runs, Umran bowled two high impact overs in which he claimed three wickets without conceding too many runs. Those two overs turned the game in SRH's favour and his final figures were 3-0-23-3.

"I don't know if he will learn to swing the ball," Eric Simons, a former India bowling coach, told Cricbuzz after the Tuesday night game. "For him it might be more about accuracy of execution, plus developing effective variations in pace. If he could learn to swing the ball, it would be a huge bonus," the South African, who worked under Gary Kirsten during India's successful World Cup campaign in 2011, said.

Umran's teammate and India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar seemed to endorse Simons' view that the J&K pacer has a lot to learn. "Umran is young and raw, he's got a lot to learn, he's got that X-factor," Bhuvneshwar, who bowled an impactful wicket maiden in the 19th over, said of his young teammate. "The credit goes to the SRH management the way they have backed him. It's easier to drop any guy when he goes for plenty of runs in 3-4 matches continuously, but they backed him and he came back pretty strong." Asked what would be his advice, the senior Pro said, "Back your length ball, when you bowl more length balls, then your yorker or bouncer will be effective. That's the one advice we all give to him."

Moody said Umran is learning fast although he had his moments of difficulty. "Umran is on a steep learning curve. He has bowled very well in this IPL. He has had his moments of being challenged. But like any young player who bursts on to the scene, you need to be measured with your approach. It's a big step-up. When he comes to international cricket, that's a path he will take - whether that time is month's time, week's time or a year's time only time will tell. But he has cramped a lot of learning in a very short period of time. He has come from very little cricket, he has been exposed to very little cricket. He has been exposed to an accelerated learning process," the Australian said.