Umesh Yadav - Current Form
Born in the historic city of Nagpur, situated around the geographic centre of India, Umesh Yadav's journey from rags to riches is stimulating. Umesh's first brush with cricket started when he joined Vidharbha Gymkhana, one of the few clubs affiliated to the Vidarbha Cricket Association.
In 2008, the Vidarbha pacer made his first-class debut against Madhya Pradesh - a four-wicket haul in the first innings provided a glimpse of his raw pace and the deftness with the ball.
The ability to hurry the batsman with his skiddy pace, and bred with the quality of producing some hefty blows, the selectors earmarked the pacer during the Ranji Trophy.
In 2010, the selectors named him in the squad for an ODI series against Zimbabwe. A decade after his debut, the pace aficionado has a total tally of 250 international wickets to his name.
In 2018, Royal Challengers Bangalore went into a fierce bidding war to acquire the services of the premier fast bowler. Umesh Yadav was the centrepiece of RCB's bowling annex - picking up 20 wickets in 14 matches.
The Numbers that Matter
- 14 - Umesh Yadav has registered three-wicket haul on 14 occasions in the Indian Premier League.
- 259 - The Vidarbha pacer has fetched 259 international wickets across all formats.
- 992 - Umesh Yadav has registered 992 wickets across all formats of competitive cricket. (Tests, ODI, T20Is, List-A, First-class and T20s)
- 29 - The 32-year-old pacer has always favoured playing against Kings XI Punjab. The pacer has taken 29 wickets with an economy rate of 7.44 against Kings XI Punjab.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Umesh Yadav was the first player from Vidarbha to represent India in Test Cricket.
- In 2018, Umesh Yadav was the highest wicket-taker for RCB with 20 wickets from 14 matches.
- In 2015, Umesh Yadav played a central role in India's qualification to the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup - with 18 wickets, he ended up as the highest wicket-taker for India and third overall in the competition.
The Rise of the Pace aficionado
Improvisation in the fitness regime has completely transformed Umesh Yadav and was evident in his recent performance in red-ball cricket.
The pacer played a frontier role in India's twin Test series win against West Indies and Bangladesh - picking up 23 wickets from just 4 matches. Since June 2019, the 32-year-old pacer has taken a total of 38 wickets in 10 matches across all formats of competitive cricket.
In his third consecutive year for RCB, the veteran pacer will look to spearhead the Indian bowling contingent.
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