Jammu and Kashmir pacer Umran Malik has caught the attention of India captain Virat Kohli after his impressive outing for SunRisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old from Jammu got everyone excited with his raw pace and clocked 152.95 kph during the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore lost the match by four runs against SunRisers Hyderabad.

Virat Kohli, who is very fond of quick fast bowlers, was paying attention to Umran Malik’s thunderbolts during the match. Umran Malik left quite an impression on the India captain as he was very excited about what he saw.

“This tournament throws up talent every year, good to see a guy bowling at 150 clicks. It is important to understand the progress of individuals from hereon,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation.

“The pool of fast bowlers being strong is always a good sign for Indian cricket and whenever you see talent like this, you are going to have your eyes on them and make sure you maximise their potential, which is already being seen at the IPL level,” he added.

Umran made his IPL debut against Kolkata Knight Riders and clocked 151.03 kmph, which was at that time the fastest delivery by an Indian this season. His 152.95 kmph bolt last night made him the fastest of the IPL, surpassing Lockie Ferguson (152.75 kmph).

SunRisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson counted him as one of the positives of a largely disappointing season for his team.

“Umran certainly is special. We’ve seen him in the nets for a couple of seasons. Special opportunity for him and it’s not surprising to see him come and do well. He has been a really valuable addition to the side,” said Williamson.

“I try and keep it really simple with him but he’s got a lot of mates in the team and they share the message and he takes the game on,” he added.