Umesh Yadav will play Vidarbha's next Ranji Trophy game versus Rajasthan in Nagpur starting December 17. The Indian pacer had been advised proper rest after four Tests against South Africa and Bangladesh in the last two months and hence, he missed the drawn opening round encounter with Andhra. 

"Yes, he will definitely be part of the team. In fact, Umesh has already started preparing for the next match," a Vidarbha Cricket Association source close to the development told the Times of India. To vindicate those words, Umesh shared a pic over twitter having trained very hard for the match. "Good training session. Done for the day," he captioned the image. 

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"He is feeling fresh after the break," the source added. "If he is not playing for the country, Umesh never says no to any Vidarbha game. His commitment towards Vidarbha is exemplary. There's no doubt that his inclusion will give more teeth to our young bowling line-up."

Umesh's inclusion is a major boost to the defending champions' bowling after it failed to dislodge Andhra's batsmen on the final day of the last game. "It wasn't easy bowling on that wicket but still they could have done better," the source said. "Our pacers need to work on certain areas if they want to play at the higher level. I am sure they will learn purposeful bowling from Umesh."

Coach Chandrakant Pandit also pointed out bowling as a concern for his side. "Vidarbha pacers did well on the opening day but that intensity and discipline was missing on the last day," he said. "Bowlers won't get helpful wickets everywhere. They need to learn how to take wickets in unhelpful conditions too." 

(Inputs from TOI)