Umran Malik will play for India soon, hope to see both Bhuvneshwar and Natarajan in India’s T20 World Cup squad: Dale Steyn  

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) began their ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign on a disastrous note, losing their first two games against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 61 runs and 12 runs, respectively.

The team appeared to lack cohesion, confidence and stability at that stage as the SRH faithful feared a repeat of the previous season which saw them finish rock-bottom for the first time in the IPL. Cut to April 22, 2022. After six matches, the same team stands fifth in the points table with eight points, having played a match less than league leaders Rajasthan Royals, who have 10 points.

The Orange Army have won their last four matches and are currently high on confidence. While their bowling unit has come together, their mercurial batting has also clicked in crunch situations, handing them comfortable victories against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by eight wickets, Gujarat Titans (GT) by eight wickets, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven wickets and Punjab Kings (PBKS) by seven wickets.

How have they been able to stage such an amazing turnaround? If you sift through the scorecards of the games that SRH have won this season, you’ll notice an interesting thing. No team has managed to get past the 175-run mark against Hyderabad in their last four games. And we’re talking about a season where 180-plus scores are there for the taking in almost every match.

This testifies to SRH’s bowling strength, which has been their hallmark since the franchise's inception in 2014. The team management decided to buy back tried and tested bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan at the mega auction in February, and made a bold move by retaining the hitherto rookie Umran Malik for ₹4 crore. The strategy is paying rich dividends for Kane Williamson and Co. as the trio have collectively picked up 29 wickets so far, derailing famed batting units in the process.

The most fascinating thing about this SRH pace attack is that each bowler comes with his own forte. While Kumar and Natarajan are proven match-winners with their swing, change of pace and yorkers, Malik’s searing speed has made him Indian cricket’s latest sensation.

The man who has been entrusted with the task of mentoring and polishing SRH’s fast bowling riches needs no introduction. Arguably one of the greatest pacers the sport has ever seen, Dale Steyn is thoroughly enjoying his SRH homecoming, albeit as a fast bowling coach now.

The former South African speedster, who claimed 699 international wickets and ruled the ICC Test bowling charts for an unmatched 2,343 days, was himself a vital component of the SRH bowling attack between 2013 and 2015. With 39 scalps to his credit at an average of 29.23, Steyn is the franchise's all-time fifth-highest wicket-taker behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar (126), Rashid Khan (93), Siddarth Kaul (52) and Sandeep Sharma (41). He also ended his IPL career with a staggering economy of 6.91.

SRH will next face Faf du Plessis’ Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday as they look to extend their winning streak. In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Steyn spoke about his coaching stint, his experience working with Malik and the chances of both Kumar and Natarajan being picked in India’s T20 World Cup squad later this year. Here are the excerpts:

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Q: You were a vital part of the SRH bowling unit in the past and now you're back as their fast bowling coach. How does it feel to return to the same franchise but in a different role?

Steyn: It feels great! It’s nice to be involved in the game and with a team that I’m quite familiar with. The coaching staff is also similar to what I had as a player. You have Tom [Moody], Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan] and [Simon] Helmot. I’ve played with guys like Kane who was also a part of SRH back then. It feels like I’m still a player! You can say that I’m playing more of a senior role now.

The ‘coach’ in me might come after a couple of years. It has been a lot of fun. I’m currently in the coaches’ room, which means I’m not in the players’ side (laughs)! These are differences that I still need to be familiar with. I’m really enjoying my time at SRH.

Q: SRH have made an inspiring comeback after losing their first two matches this season. How did the support staff motivate the players when the team was losing?

Steyn: The first match was an aberration because we threw a bunch of players into the mix. Tournaments like the IPL are really tough because a lot of guys arrive a couple of days before going into quarantine. Then they come out and they’re on the bus together without knowing each other well, they don’t speak the same language and there’s a communication barrier as well.

I think every team experiences such things in the first game and some teams do quite well. In our case, we had a fully new squad and were playing against a team [Rajasthan Royals] that had players who were already familiar with each other. The first game was a blowout game for us, but that’s fine. The IPL is a long tournament.

We lost our second game as well (against Lucknow Super Giants), but there was a definite improvement. That’s the most important thing because we want to improve all the time and peak at the right time. We won our third game, but it wasn’t our best performance. We’ve won more and more convincingly as the tournament has progressed. That’s what we’ve told the guys. We want them to go out there and express themselves.

I know it’s a cliché because the players are already doing that. We’ve been motivating the guys to develop this confidence and when they do that, they achieve fantastic results. We know we’ll go through some rocky times as the tournament is only at the halfway stage. I think the team management and Kane know what it feels like at the beginning, so hopefully we can handle the situation if it arises later.

Q: Umran Malik is blessed with raw pace. What aspects of his bowling are you helping him improve on? Do you think India should preserve him for Test cricket in order to manage his workload better?

Steyn: Right now we’re all excited about Umran’s talent and what he has shown. Everyone is on the edge of their seats when he bowls. It’s exciting not just for Indian cricket, but also for world cricket. Very rarely do you get guys like that who bowl so fast and that too consistently. We’ve seen bowlers like Anrich Nortje and Lockie Ferguson do it over the past few years, but Umran is much younger and comes with a fantastic backstory. He was a net bowler for us last year, but this year, he’s one of our main players. That’s what draws us to a young individual like Umran.

I’m sure he’ll play for India soon. How he’ll be managed will be entirely up to Indian cricket. I think they should bring him to the senior team as soon as possible because what he offers is brilliant. He makes the batters think and play differently. For now, I just want to see him progress. I’ve seen him progress with each game and get better and better. He’s now more comfortable with his game plan and has figured out how to play. I think that’s the most important thing for a cricketer. If he manages his workload off the field, he can do wonders on the field.

Q: Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan have bowled brilliantly this season. How much of your input went into the decision to buy them back at the auction? Do you expect them both to feature in India's T20 World Cup squad later this year?

Steyn: I certainly hope that they do! Both of them are bowling fantastically well. I was very pleased when I heard after the auction that both Bhuvi and Nattu would continue with us. They are certainly two guys we were interested in leading up to the auction. We had our pre-auction meetings where we discussed the players we wanted and wrote down their names. You know how the auctions work - sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t. In this case, we got the guys we wanted.

SRH pacers T Natarajan (left) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (right) complement each other. Image: SRH

In terms of coaching them, I don’t have to do much. I just ask them what they want to achieve in the nets on a particular day, and I create a scenario for them. If Nattu has to bowl at the death, I make sure he bowls with an older ball to a batter who’s supposed to bat specifically at the death.

We create such scenarios so that he can practice nicely. I think that’s why he’s so good on the field. He practices like he plays. It’s great to have those two senior guys in the team and hopefully their good form will continue throughout the season.