Why is Umran Malik Not Playing Today’s IPL 2023 Match Between SRH and MI in Hyderabad?

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Aiden Markram has won the toss and chose to bowl in Indian Premier League 2023 Match 25 against Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium tonight.

Coming on the back of a win each home and away, SRH made a solitary change to their Playing XI by leaving fast bowler Umran Malik out of the Playing XI.

MI, on the other hand, announced two changes to their Playing XI in spite of also winning their last two matches. Captain Rohit Sharma and fast bowler Jason Behrendorff have made their way back into the starting XI in place of pacers Duan Jansen and Riley Meredith.

Why is Umran Malik Not Playing vs Mumbai Indians Today?

It is worth mentioning that Markram wasn’t asked about the rationale behind playing all-rounder Washington Sundar ahead of Malik. Readers must note that one reason could be because of the pitch at this venue tonight. Of all that we’ve seen thus far, spinners are getting to grip the ball to not allow the visiting batters dictate terms in the first innings.

With Malik spotted on television while taking part in pre-match training, he doesn’t appear to have injured himself after playing four matches. Second-highest wicket-taker for Sunrisers on the back of dismissing five batters at an average of 24.4 and a strike rate of 13.2 this season thus far, Malik’s performance hasn’t been bad enough for the team management to drop an X-factor Indian pacer such as him.

That being said, it is noteworthy that Malik’s economy rate of 11.09 is doubtlessly on the higher side. Whether it played a part in him not playing on Tuesday remains to be confirmed by Markram or the support staff.

With the hosts bowling first, the prospect of a specialist bowler in Malik playing a part in the second player as an Impact Player remain bleak. Hyderabad’s remaining four substitutes for this match are Abdul Samad, Vivrant Sharma, Glenn Phillips and Mayank Dagar.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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