IND vs AUS:Senior Indian pacer Umesh Yadav, who was reportedly chosen to replace COVID-19 positive Mohammed Shami for the three-match T20I series against Australia, arrived in Chandigarh on Sunday morning to join the Indian team before the first T20I, which is scheduled to take place at PCA Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday (September 20).
He reached at Chandigarh Airport at 7 a.m. on Sunday and travelled directly to the hotel to join the other team members of the Indian team.
Yadav last participated in an India vs. Australia T20I match on February 24, 2019. He will play a T20I game for the Men in Blue for the first time in 43 months if he is chosen for the starting lineup for the upcoming fixtures.
After the seamer’s disappointing performance in the Asia Cup, which was one of the main reasons India didn’t make it to the final, the selectors made the decision to rely on the experience of Shami and Umesh.
Shami was chosen to participate in both the Australia and South Africa T20 series, but due to a COVID positive test, Umesh Yadav was replaced in place of him.
With the Kolkata Knight Riders, Yadav had a fantastic IPL season. He was one of the most dangerous pacers in the powerplay, taking 16 wickets at an economy rate of 7. This was essentially the cause of his unexpected return to the T20I lineup just one month before the next month’s World Cup.
Yadav made his T20I debut for India against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on August 7, 2012 and has played 7 T20Is so far in his international career for India, in which he took 9 wickets.
However, whether Umesh will play the series or not will depend on how management wants to build the team for the T20 World Cup as leading pace bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar and Harshal Patel are all part of the squad.
India will play a three-match T20I series against Australia, starting on September 20. Then they will the T20 and ODI series against South Africa before the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia next month.
