Ravi Shastri told me that Umesh Yadav will be India’s third pacer: Ian Chappell

Prior to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India have already been jolted with a blow as their premier fast bowler Ishant Sharma won’t be a part of the series due to an injury. Hence, even as the visitors have Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami as their first-choice pacers, they have to choose between Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav as the third seamer.

Former Australian cricketer Ian Chappell had a conversation with Team India’s head coach Ravi Shastri. During the chat, Shastri told him that Umesh is most likely to partner Bumrah and Shami for Test series, scheduled to start on December 17 with the Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Oval.

“I was having a drink with Ravi (Shastri) the other day and he told me that probably (Umesh) Yadav will get the nod as the third pacer,” Chappell was quoted as saying in Scroll.

Umesh Yadav- a key component of India’s Test setup

Back in 2019 when Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out for a few months due to a back injury, Umesh ruffled a few feathers in Test cricket along with Bumrah and Shami. In 46 Tests, the 33-year-old has 144 wickets with three five-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket haul to his name.

In 2017, Umesh was the leading wicket-taker for Team India among the fast bowlers in the Tests against the Aussies. The speedster picked up 17 wickets at an average of 23.40.

Going into the pink-ball Test under the floodlights, Chappell feels that scoring a whole amount of runs in the first innings could be decisive in the context of the encounter.

“India have two smart quicks in Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. If you ask me, if the team batting first scores 300, you are on your way to winning the Test match at the Adelaide,” he added.

Chappell also sounded excited to watch Ajinkya Rahane lead Team India after Virat Kohli leaves Australia for a paternity leave. Chappell was impressed with Rahane’s leadership skills during a Test in Dharamsala that the hosts won by eight wickets.

“Well, I saw him captain in one Test against Australia (in Dharamsala in March, 2017) and found his captaincy to be fabulous. He was really an aggressive captain,” he stated.