Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Umesh Yadav on Sunday (3rd April) talked about his journey as a cricketer. He said that for him, who lived in coal mines, it was an ‘expensive’ dream to play for India.
Umesh Yadav has been in the red hot form in the ongoing IPL season. The right-arm pacer is currently the highest wicket-taker in the league with 8 wickets to his name in three matches.
Yadav has made the ball talk and has troubled batters with his ability to move the new ball. He was roped in by KKR for INR 2 crores at the IPL 2022 mega-auction. This is his second stint with the franchise after representing them from 2014 to 2017.
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Although he has not been a regular feature in India’s white-ball setup, Umesh of late has been a crucial member of the Test side. He has so far played 52 Tests, 75 ODIs, and 7 T20Is for the nation. Debuting in 2010, he was also the highest wicket-taker for India in the 2015 World Cup with 18 scalps to his name.
Speaking in a video posted on KKR’s YouTube channel, Umesh Yadav said that he never imagined playing for India as he used to live in coal mines and to represent the country in cricket was an expensive dream for him.
“From where I belong, there will be very few boys who believe that they could play for India. Playing and dreaming about cricket was expensive for them. Kit, bat, pad, shoes, etc. you just can't do it because you live in coal mines, your father goes to coal mines and does hard work. At that time, I had never thought I would play for India as it was beyond my imagination,” Umesh Yadav said.
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Yadav said that after winning the IPL title with KKR in 2014, the next big moment for him was the Cricket World Cup 2015, where he was the highest wicket-taker for India.
"After we won the title (with KKR) in 2014, the next big moment for me was the 2015 World Cup. The kind of wickets that I got; I was the highest wicket-taker for India. So, the real journey in white-ball cricket started from there,” he said.
Yadav also talked about the downfall in his career. He said that he felt bad when he was out of India’s white-ball setup as things changed suddenly for him.
"I feel bad when there was a downfall in my career and when I was in and out of the Indian white-ball team. People labeled me as someone who is not a white-ball bowler. I felt bad that how so much changed suddenly, at one point I was India's leading wicket-taker of 2015 World Cup. But it's okay, it's life, it goes on,” he said.
