Indian pacer Umesh Yadav recently posed with his former international cricket captain MS Dhoni in Ranchi. He was in Dhoni's home city to play a Ranji match for Vidarbha against the Jharkhand side.
Vidarbha registered a thumping 309-run victory against the home team on Monday (January 29) after a collective performance from both batting and bowling departments. Umesh Yadav picked up two wickets in the first innings and then scalped four wickets in the second innings, playing a vital role in the victory.
After the match, Umesh took to his official X handle and shared a photo alongside legendary MS Dhoni. The duo can be seen posing in a gym in their workout attires, sporting warm smiles. The Vidarbha pacer captioned:
"ARRIVE AS A KING LIVE AS A LEGEND, BE REMEMBERED AS A GENTLEMAN."
Yadav has been sidelined by the Indian selectors from the Test squad over the past few series. The WTC 2023 final against Australia was his last appearance for India.
Umesh Yadav will play for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024
After spending a couple of seasons with KKR, Umesh will now play for Gujarat Titans in the upcoming IPL season. The Titans procured his services at the IPL 2024 auction in December with a hefty pay cheque of ₹5.80 crore.
Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra weighed in on the selection and termed it a smart buy, considering the playing conditions at GT's home ground. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said:
"They bought Umesh Yadav, who is a great choice. When you play in Gujarat and especially under lights, the ball moves. So you need (Mohammed) Shami's backup or someone to bowl with him because Hardik Pandya used to bowl with the new ball as well."
He continued:
"You can play an extra Indian now because of the Impact Player rule. So Umesh Yadav could come as an Impact Player and bowl his overs, although he also bats well. So he might bat as well but both Umesh and Shami have the ability to pick up wickets with the new ball. Mohit (Sharma) is your backend bowler."
Do you agree with Aakash Chopra's views above? Let us know in the comments section below.
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