I had never thought I would play for India as it was beyond my imagination: Umesh Yadav opens up about his journey

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fast bowler Umesh Yadav has had a memorable time in the IPL 2022 so far, and currently leads the chart for taking the highest number of wickets this tournament. The 34-year-old is the opening bowler for his side, as has performed brilliantly since the start of the season.

He has made a mark in the IPL this year, and is enjoying the limelight. But his accomplishment hasn’t come in a day. It has been very difficult for Yadav, looking at the background he hails from. He has overcome many obstacles to come this far in his life, and the hardships that he has faced in his life are just a lot.

In a video shared by KKR on their official YouTube channel, he opened up about his upbringing, and how he fulfilled his dream of playing for his nation. “From where I belong, there will be very few boys who believe that they could play for India. Playing and dreaming about cricket was expensive for them.

“Kit, bat, pad, shoes, etc. you just can’t do it because you live in coal mines, your father goes to coal mines and does hard work. At that time I had never thought I would play for India as it was beyond my imagination,” he said.

People labeled me as someone who is not a white-ball bowler: Umesh

Umesh Yadav has been one of the core members of India’s red-ball squad. But he has also faced a backlash from many people who labeled him as a non-white-ball specialist, meaning he wasn’t the right fit in the white-ball format of the game. He was a part of the Indian team in the 2015 World Cup, and picked a whopping 18 wickets in the tournament.

“After we won the title (with KKR) in 2014, the next big moment for me was the 2015 World Cup. The kind of wickets that I got, I was the highest wicket-taker for India. So the real journey in white-ball cricket started from there. I feel bad when there was a downfall in my career and when I was in and out of the Indian white-ball team, people labeled me as someone who is not a white-ball bowler.

“I felt bad that how so much changed suddenly, at one point I was India’s leading wicket-taker of 2015 World Cup. But it’s okay, it’s life, it goes on,” he concluded.