IND vs AUS 2023: He was always overlooked at times and that must have really hurt him – Dinesh Karthik feels for Umesh Yadav

India’s wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik believes Umesh Yadav must have felt really hurt after he was consistently overlooked in selection. Despite performing decently, Yadav didn’t get consistent chances in the final XI in Test cricket due to the presence of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah.

The fast bowler from Vidharbha got his chance in the playing XI in the third Test match against Australia at Indore after Mohammed Shami was rested. The 35-year-old was able to prove his mettle as he returned with figures of 3-12 in the first innings and helped India dismiss Australia at 197. Yadav was able to get the ball to reverse and once again proved his mettle.

Furthermore, Umesh completed 100 wickets in the tough Indian conditions and became the quickest fast bowler (in terms of balls bowled) to get to the landmark.

“You have to understand his roots. He is a coal miner’s son, and tried being part of the police academy. That did not work out and then he went into fast bowling and his growth rate at that stage, from 2008, when he started playing for Vidarbha, he made it to the Indian team in 2010, that’s a growth fast rate. Then he kept going still at a certain point and then plateaued. When it happens to any cricketer, you feel hard done by. He is no different and he must have felt sad,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

“When you have an attack like Bumrah and Shami, the third one was always between Ishant and Umesh and a lot other times it would be Ishant, Shami and Umesh. But when they played two medium pacers in India it became Ishant and Shami at times,” Karthik added.

Furthermore, Yadav went unsold at the IPL 2019 auction. Yadav was grabbed by KKR for his base price of INR 2 croes at IPL 2022 mega auction and he took 16 wickets in 12 matches and bowled accurately in the Powerplay overs in the previous edition.

“He was always overlooked at times and that must have really hurt him because every time he came in he produced a two or three-wicket performance but was never good enough to hold on to that place. You know he was thrown out…I think the hardest time was when he was unsold at an auction. That must have hurt him really bad,” he said.

Yadav has scalped 168 wickets in 55 Test matches at an average of 29.8. The fast bowler will look to continue the good show if he gets his chance in the fourth Test match against Australia, which will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad from March 9.