Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) head coach Brendon McCullum was incredibly happy with fast bowler Umesh Yadav’s performances so far in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2022).
So far in the tournament, Umesh has been outstanding with the new ball for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Shreyas Iyer-led KKR team has shown faith in Umesh and he delivered his best by offering the franchise early breakthroughs in the first two matches against CSK and RCB.
The 34-year-old pacer was handed the new ball and he dismissed Anuj Rawat for a duck and then removed the dangerous Virat Kohli for 12 while defending the 129-run target.
However, his performance wasn’t enough, as KKR lost the game by three wickets against RCB. He also snared 2 wickets in their opening match against the CSK.
After KKR's 3-wicket loss to RCB in a last-over thriller, McCullum revealed that they told Umesh not to worry about going for a few extra runs with the new ball, but to be as aggressive as possible.
“Umesh Yadav has been simply outstanding. I was lucky enough to play with Umesh when I was still playing the game back then and I knew how good a bloke he was and how much of a talent he was, especially with the new ball if there was assistance,” McCullum said in the post-match press conference.
The coach continued, “His brief is very much to try and take wickets for us. If he goes for a few runs, we don't care, we just want to have the attacking mentality. In two games, he has done more than we could have asked for. He has done a wonderful job and, hopefully, that continues.”
He signed off by saying, “I know he is closer to the end of his career. But he is still incredibly fit, very very driven and we see him as a huge asset for us, especially in the early stages of the tournament when the ball is still swinging and seaming.”
McCullum also spoke on why Andre Russell did not complete his quota of overs after he seemed in a bit of discomfort.
"Dre had run around the boundary and dived, and unfortunately picked up a little bit of a bump. His shoulder was a little bit sore. But Dre being Dre, he still wants to try to get the job done, and he wasn't quite able to. Those are things which happen in low-scoring games."
KKR will next take on MI in their IPL 15 match on April 6.
(With India Today/ANI Inputs)
