10 Facts about Umesh Yadav – The Vidarbha express

Umesh Yadav is by far India’s fastest bowler in the international circuit. Known for his steamy run-up, and following it with a high-chest action, Umesh Yadav has been a regular in the Indian squad for the past few years.

His exceptional pace has compromised his ball control to an extent, and is known to spray a couple of balls in an over and that is what delights the batsmen. But more often than not, even for players who are accustomed to playing bowlers bowl with similar pace, sometimes find it uncomfortable to handle Umesh. His relative shorter height, in comparison to other speedsters, makes his delivery skid off the surface of the pitch often, making it difficult for the batsmen to read the bounce he will generate.

1. Birth:

Umesh Yadav was born in Nagpur, Maharashtra on 25^th October 1987.

2. Early life and stumbling onto cricket:

Umesh Yadav was bought up in Valani (WCL Colny), a village of miners near to Khaperkheda, in Nagpur district of Maharashtra. His father works in WCL Mines. He aspired to become a Police officer during his teens, albeit unsuccessfully. He took up cricket only when he was 19, and represent Air India in a T20 tournament.

3. First Class cricket:

Pritam Ghande the Vidarbha cricket team captain, who was instrumental in Yadav’s inclusion in the Air India squad in the T20 tournament, was visibly impressed by the youngster, and found a raw pacer in Umesh. He made his First Class debut against Madhya Pradesh in the 2008-09 season, and took 4 wickets. He played just 4 matches for Vidarbha that season but, managed to take 20 wickets.

4. ODI debut:

Umesh Yadav was a part of India’s T20 World Cup squad in 2010 but did not play a single match. Despite being in and out of the team, he made his debut for India playing against Zimbabwe representing a second string team. He went wicketless on his debut, which resulted in India losing to Zimbabwe. He is the first player from Vidarbha to play for India.

5. Test debut:

In 2010-2011, Umesh made it regularly into the Indian squad, despite not making it to the playing eleven more often. During the West Indies’ tour of India in 2011, Umesh was picked in the Test squad thanks to a string of reasonable performances, and made his Test debut. In spite of going wicketless in the first innings, Yadav took two wickets in the second innings, and India won the match by 5 wickets.

6. Tour of Australia and injury debacles:

In India’s disastrous tour of Australia in 2011-12, Umesh was one of the brighter spots for the team, having picked up 14 wickets in 5 Tests with a strike rate of just above 50. But he was ruled out of the team post IPL 2012, wherein he was down with an injury.

7. Return to the team:

Umesh made his comeback into the national team for the 2013 Champion’s Trophy, in which India went on to win the title. He has been a regular in the national team thereafter.

8. Dream World Cup run:

Post another Test series loss down under, and a disastrous tri series, India’s chances in the World Cup looked bleak. But thanks to an inspired bowling performance from the bowlers, led by Umesh Yadav, the Indian team went on to bowl out the opposition in 7 consecutive matches. Though India bowed out in the semi-finals, losing to eventual winners Australia, Umesh’s performance was appreciated, as he ended up being India’s highest wicket taker in the tournament, with 18 wickets.

9. IPL career:

Umesh Yadav has had a mixed IPL career. While he was the tournament’s 4th highest wicket taker in the 2012 edition, his performance in the rest of the editions were modest. In 80 matches he has featured, Umesh has taken 74 wickets, but has been quite expensive, with an overall economy of 8.38.

10. Records:

Umesh Yadav is not hailed as India’s fastest bowler without a reason. According to espncricinfo, he has clocked 155 kmph once, which is amongst the fastest deliveries bowled by an Indian bowler. He is also one of the few bowlers to have cracked the 150 barrier in IPL, having clocked 150.1 kmph in the 2015 IPL edition.