“My sole aim is to bowl consistently at the brisk pace especially as long as I am going to play for the national team,” says young Indian pacer, Umesh Yadav, who is one of the finest young fast bowlers that India has at this moment. It would be very important to mould this young lad in proper way so that he can serve Indian Cricket for longer period without sustaining any kind of injury. Though, he has been slammed for the short-stuff that he keeps bowling, but has also won accolades for his pace which he has managed to maintain after spending almost after a couple of years at the international circuit.
He was quoted by The Times of India saying, "If I have been selected in the Indian team to play across all formats, it is because I have the sheer pace than anything else. Even when I got injured last season (stress reaction in back), cutting down on pace never ever crossed my mind.”
Yadav has played 9 Tests and 26 ODIs so far and with his recent comeback after an injury, which he sustained during the Test series against England, he is looking to stick to his basics and get them right rather than fancying his chances to come up with new delivery which can surprise the batsmen once in a while. He is good at getting his out-swingers right and would be honing them during the domestic season when he will be playing for Vidarbha.
He was quoted by The Hindu saying, "Agreed, when you come back, your body asks you a few questions but you should always stick to doing what you do the best. I have a natural outswinger and if I can bowl four to five of them at a 140 kmph plus per over, I would be satisfied with my effort," he said.
Vidarbha-pacer is relying on the advice of legendary Glenn McGrath, who asked him to just find a "spot and hit there consistently." Yadav relies more or less on his length deliveries rather than going short. But recently he was slammed by Kapil Dev for bowling short on the wickets in England.
He was quoted by Hindustan Times saying, "I have met McGrath a few times in India as well as in Australia when we toured there in 2011. McGrath told me that each bowler, whether, he is a fast bowler or medium pacer needs to identify the area where one needs to hit. Each bowler's length varies but if one finds his preferred length, then nothing like it."
"On the bouncy pitches in South Africa and Australia, it is easy to get carried away and bowl short. The moment batsmen get on the backfoot, they get that extra second. Also, Test level batsmen are adept at leaving deliveries. It's better to bowl fuller deliveries on bouncy pitches as the batsmen would then think of driving," he added.
