‘He was overlooked at times and that must have really hurt him’ - Dinesh Karthik opens up about Umesh Yadav’s India career

Veteran India pacer Umesh Yadav was sensational in the third Test against Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In a pitch that was tailor-made for the spinners to succeed, the 35-year-old picked up three wickets in the first innings to put Australia’s innings to bed. He has also picked up more than 100 Test wickets in India but despite so, the seamer has not cemented his position in the playing XI.

Now talking about his India career, stumper-batter Dinesh Karthik mentioned that he is someone who is constantly being overlooked by the team management despite doing well in the subcontinent. Karthik also talked about Umesh’s humble background and how he must have been hurt as he could never finalise his place despite performing well.

“You have to understand his roots. He is a coal miner's son, tried being part of the police academy. That did not work out and then he went into fast bowling and his growth rate at that stage, from 2008, when he started playing for Vidarbha, he made it to the Indian team in 2010, that's a growth fast rate.

Then he kept going still a certain point and then plateaued. When it happens to any cricketer, you feel hard done by. He is no different and he must have felt sad. He was always overlooked at times and that must have really hurt him because every time he came in he produced a two or three-wicket performance but was never good enough to hold on to that place. You know he was thrown out,” Karthik said as quoted by India Today.

I think the hardest time was when he was unsold at an auction: Dinesh Karthik

In the 2021 mega auction, Umesh Yadav went unsold and that according to Dinesh Karthik was his hardest time in cricket. “I think the hardest time was when he was unsold at an auction. That must have hurt him really bad,” Karthik recalled.

However, the seamer bounced back in 2022 after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) picked him in the auction. He picked up 16 wickets from 12 matches last year and was KKR’s wrecker-in-chief with the new ball.

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