It is that time when all the players want just one thing - 'A place in their national squad for the World Cup'. IPL 2019 will see some cricketers trying to prove their worth to the national selectors while some playing to keep their rhythm going.
Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer Umesh Yadav is the former who wants to seal the spot of the fourth pacer in India's bowling line-up for the World Cup. Currently, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami seem to be the three pacers India will go ahead with.
While talking to IANS, he said, "If you look at the IPL as a platform to convince selectors that I am the man to be picked for the World Cup, I am the man. The fourth bowler that the team is looking at, I feel I fit that role. I don't think any of the youngsters have done enough to replace the senior bowlers. At the end of the day, you are going to play the World Cup and not just any other tournament like a bilateral series."
He also mentioned that the selectors should not go with a bowler who is inexperienced at the international stage as he will not be able to handle the pressure of the big game and hence may not perform to expectations.
"Experience is a must on the big stage. Someone with experience of playing 10-12 matches is not enough because if a situation arises that one of the frontline bowlers is injured, you must have the replacement who is able to handle the pressure of that situation. You need someone who can bowl 140kmph-plus and has the mental ability to perform under pressure," he added.
In ODIs, Yadav has picked 106 wickets in 75 matches at an average of 33.63 and has a best of 4/31. He has not yet got an opportunity of playing a string of ODIs in order to prove himself.
He said, "To be honest if you look at it, I haven't played too many ODI matches. You cannot count someone's performance on the basis of a couple of matches here and there. If I am given a long run and back-to-back matches, then I can prove myself."
Ashish Nehra is the bowling coach of RCB. Umesh has got to learn a lot of things from the former Indian left-arm pacer. About that, he said, "Nehra paaji gave me a lot of confidence after I joined RCB last season. He told me that when everything is against you and you perform that is when you should take it as a challenge and show the world what you are made of."
"If everything is stacked against you and you rise like a phoenix from the ashes, then that gives you joy as a sportsperson. If everything is going your way, there is no fight and the joy of achieving something goes down. He said 'keep learning every minute and come back stronger' and I keep doing just that. I can really relate to him. His life lessons are amazing," he added.
(Source: India Today)
