Published: Oct 16, 2018, 02:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 16, 2018, 02:40 PM (IST)
A few days after the Hyderabad Test ended prematurely, former India pacer Subroto Banerjee’s cell phone cracked into an endless buzz. The call was from his student, Umesh Yadav, whom he first met as a 19-year-old at Vidarbha’s cricket academy.
The 30-year-old fast bowler had bamboozled West Indies’ batting line-up with a maiden ten-wicket haul in the second Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal to set up India’s 2-0 series win.
“Yes, sir. I wanted to get those 10 wickets,” were Umesh’s first words during the chat, Banerjee tells CricketCountry.
Umesh was determined to achieve the feat in Hyderabad. “He wanted to take five and five wickets [in each innings]. He was determined to take 10 wickets there. He was mad about it. He is always like that. Sir, main le loonga wickets. He is never negative about his bowling and that is what I like about him,” says Banerjee.
Umesh has had to warm up the benches for most of this year with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah the preferred fast bowlers across the tours of South Africa and England. However, playing in just his fourth Test this year – of which three have been home fixtures – Umesh ensured he capitalised on the opportunity when it came knocking.
“His ability is immense, everyone knows about it. He’s a captain’s bowler. The captain should give him the liberty and tell him, ‘daal, bindaas daal. Don’t worry if you get hit sometimes.’ He’s bowling for long hours and it’s not possible to be accurate. In some spells, he will go off line, but if he receives the captain’s backing, then he can do a wonderful job. Virat always backs his bowlers, so there’s no issue there,” Banerjee, who played one Test and six ODIs, says.
Umesh’s ten-wicket haul at Uppal accomplished a feat that only two other Indian fast bowlers – Kapil Dev (11/146 against Pakistan) and Javagal Srinath (13/132 against Pakistan in 1999-00) – have achieved in Tests in India.
“Umesh was on target all the time. The kind of speed and reverse he was getting was really of high calibre,” says Banerjee. “He was always hitting the most important areas. It was not from middle to leg, it was just outside the off stump. The ball was landing on the off and middle stump only. That is exactly where he wants to land the ball, so if the batsmen missed, he got the wicket.”
Umesh’s imperious showing has created a pleasant headache for the Indian team management. Banerjee reckons that although the Hyderabad performance has raised Umesh’s stakes for a spot during the four Tests in Australia, what the 30-year-old offers is his ability to take wickets in any situation.
“Of course, Umesh is fit for Australia. Yes, he has gone for runs there, but if your mind is not clear when bowling, if you think you’ll go for runs, then you cannot take wickets,” he says. “Umesh is not a McGrath kind of a bowler. He won’t bowl in the same place all the time. Umesh will throw surprises at you. He gets that movement and suddenly, you will notice that in the first spell he’s a different bowler and in the second spell he’s a different bowler, so that adds value to him. At any point of time, he can dismiss any batsmen.”
With confidence backing him, Banerjee believes Umesh can be a lethal bowler in Australia. “He should bowl the way he’s bowling. He’s got the confidence now. He should understand the wicket and the kind of batsmen he’s bowling to,” he says.
