Umesh Yadav: A rejuvenated pacer in white-ball cricket
Umesh Yadav seems to have roared back to form in the ongoing IPL 2022. Not only is he Kolkata Knight Riders’ most consistent bowler this season but also the best in the tournament so far. The senior pacer tops the Purple Cap list with eight scalps from three matches at an economy rate of 4.92 and the way he is performing, it should not be surprising if ends up topping the charts at the end of the competition as well.
After taking two wickets each against CSK and RCB, Yadav registered 4/23 against PBKS and restricted them to a paltry 137. Should he have a good season this time, Umesh could supposedly find himself in India’s white-ball setup.
Test specialist Umesh Yadav making the white ball do the talking with ease
The Vidarbha cricketer plays for India as a Test specialist and has not been in the limited-overs scheme of things since February 2019. Despite his omission from white-ball plans, the 34-year-old has been getting IPL offers all these years. He has registered 106 wickets in 75 One Day Internationals and nine scalps from seven T20Is respectively.
Things were not easy for him even in the marquee tournament as Yadav was released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of IPL 2021 and found no takers at the mini-auction. He went wicketless in the two games that he got to play in the 2020 edition and thus, could not win RCB’s confidence going forward.
Nonetheless, Yadav did not give up hope and registered his name for IPL 2022 mega auction. The experienced fast bowler went unsold in the first round of the two-day event in Bengaluru in February and at one point, it seemed as if he would find no buyers for a second straight year.
When his name was announced in the later slot, once again no franchises showed in interest in him before KKR decided to buy him for INR 2 crore. With a much-needed breakthrough, Umesh Yadav would be working hard in the next two months to revive his white-ball career and also play an instrumental role in KKR winning their third IPL crown.
