IPL 2022: 10 players who are turning out to be bargain picks for their teams

8. Umesh Yadav – Kolkata Knight Riders (INR 2 crores)

The Indian veteran pacer, who is known for his pace and swing, was bought for his base price of INR 2 crores by the Kolkata Knight Riders. Umesh, who is most potent in the power play overs, has been optimally used by the Knight Riders management. KKR has used Yadav’s pace and swing to good effect, bowling his 90% quota of overs inside the powerplay when the new ball is helping the seamers.

Umesh currently stands in the fifth position in the Purple Cap race with 11 wickets from eight innings. Umesh troubled all the opening batters with his raw pace inside the powerplay and almost seemed unplayable with his deadly outswingers with the new ball. Yadav has bowled 32 overs so far, giving away just 238 runs at a more than a decent economy rate of 7.43. Umesh’s 4/23 against Punjab Kings is his best bowling figure so far in the tournament.

Umesh, who had always been a strong contender for the Indian National Team as well, has been an underachiever in recent times. The performances made Yadav go unsold in the 2021 edition, and he just played two matches for RCB in the 2020 edition. With Umesh firing all cylinders, many teams struggling to pick wickets in the power play must be reconsidering their auction strategy of not bidding for Yadav.