KOLKATA, April 13: In 2008, when Tim Southee was making waves in competitive cricket as a 19-year-old, Umesh Yadav had only started considering a career in the sport.
Nearly a decade and a half later, Southee, a year younger and 366 international wickets ahead of Umesh, is so impressed with his Kolkata Knight Riders teammate’s bowling in IPL-15, that the New Zealander is backing him to wear the India jersey again in the shortest format, having last played a T20I more than three years ago.
“I’m a fan of Umesh, he is a tremendous bowler. I was fortunate enough to share the new ball with him a few times when we both played at RCB,” Southee said in an interview with PTI.
“The way he’s been managed suits Umesh’s style of bowling. If he keeps performing the way he’s been doing I can’t see why he would not do well for India in T20 cricket.”
Maintaining a great line and length, the 34-year-old Umesh has been very effective for KKR this season, giving crucial breakthroughs in the powerplays. He has taken 10 wickets from five matches so far, at an economy of 6.60 while bowling the highest number of dot balls (62).
His scalps include those of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma inside the powerplay, while against Punjab Kings, he delivered a magical double-wicket maiden in the middle overs to skittle them out for 137.
In the auction, Umesh was bought by KKR at his base price or Rs 2 crore. (PTI)
