Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Tim Southee on Wednesday (13th April) lavished rich praise on teammate Umesh Yadav, saying that he can’t see why the pacer would not do well for the Indian T20 team.
Umesh Yadav has been a revelation with the ball in the ongoing IPL 2022. The right-arm pacer has bowled some exceptional spells in the tournament so far. The main highlight of him has been his ability to take wickets with the new ball in the power play for KKR.
Umesh has bowled terrific lines and lengths and has taken 10 wickets from 5 matches so far at an economy of 6.60. He has also bowled the highest number of dot balls (62) in the tournament. His tally of 10 wickets includes the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as well.
Read Also: WATCH- Ravindra Jadeja does 'gun fire' celebration after dismissing Glenn Maxwell
He has been one of the main architects behind his team’s success in the league so far. Notably, he went unsold in the first round of the auction and then was roped in by the KKR at his base price of INR 2 crore in the IPL 2022 mega auction.
Speaking to PTI, Tim Southee said that he’s a big fan of ‘tremendous bowler’ Umesh Yadav, with whom he shared a new ball at RCB. He remarked that with the way the pacer is bowling he can be a part of the Indian T20I team.
“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. 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,” Tim Southee said.
Southee lauded KKR management along with head coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Shreyas Iyer for using Umesh as an attacking weapon.
“The way the KKR has used him has been outstanding. (Head coach) Brendon (McCullum) and (captain) Shreyas (Iyer) have used him obviously as an attacking weapon with the new ball, maximising his strengths with the new ball and coming back in the middle overs to try and pick up wickets make the phase a bit easier,” he said.
Read Also: R Ashwin feels ‘retiring out’ will happen more frequently in T20s and will be destigmatized
Southee lauded KKR's bowling attack as the one "that covers all bases". He called fellow pacer Umesh a "very fine Indian fast bowler", Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy "great" mystery spinners and expressed pride in being part of the team.
“He’s had a strong start to the tournament. To open the bowling with some of the great bowlers, and someone who you don’t usually get to deal with, that’s the beauty of this tournament. you are able to open the bowling with the very fine Indian fast bowler. It’s really exciting. You look at the experience and the pace that the three have and then we throw in the exciting talents of the young Indian bowlers who we have in our side.
“On top of that you have got two of the great mystery spinners of the game so I think as a bowling attack that covers all the bases.
“It’s great to be a part of such a great lineup. You got the experience of Sunil Narine, Pat and Umesh and then throw in some exciting young Indian talents, it’s great to be around,” he said.
Tim Southee further lauded Rasikh Salam, who recently made his debut for KKR, and Ashok Sharma, saying that it’s an eye-opener to see young talented Indian players.
“Rasikh Salam who played his first game the other day is just a very skilful bowler and can swing the ball both ways. Then there’s Ashok (Sharma). It’s always an eye-opener when you come to India and see these young Indian talented guys. They are asking some tough questions which are great to see,” he concluded.
KKR will next take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next fixture, to be played on April 15 (Friday) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
(PTI Inputs)
