"He’ll do well in those English conditions” - Tim Southee backs Umesh Yadav to feature in the WTC final 

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowler Tim Southee has backed his franchise teammate, Umesh Yadav, to feature for Team India in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final. The Rohit Sharma-led side will face Australia at The Oval from June 7 onwards.

The Indian right-arm pacer has managed to make sporadic appearances for the national side. With Mohammad Shami and Mohammad Siraj being rested for the final two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Umesh got a chance in the playing XI.

Additionally, with Bumrah altogether absent from the scheme of things, Umesh has a realistic chance of playing in the WTC final, with India unlikely to go with three spinners at The Oval.

Stating that Umesh will get a lot of help bowling in English conditions, Southee told The Telegraph in an interview:

"Conditions will obviously be different in the UK. Also, Umesh has played enough Test cricket and he will be looking forward to the chance of playing in a Test Championship final in conditions that should suit his type of bowling."

Southee continued:

“He is an exciting bowler who bowls at a good pace and can swing the ball. So hopefully, he’ll do well in those English conditions.”

Umesh had a largely productive IPL campaign last year. He greatly benefitted from bowling on the pitches in Maharashtra and was potent with the new ball. He held the Purple Cap for a good portion of the season before the spinners took over.

Apart from Bumrah, Team India will also be without Rishabh Pant for the highly anticipated final. Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer is also a doubt for the fixture given his recurring back injury woes.

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"It’s a tough place to play in and the more the guys have that experience, the better for our World Cup preparation" - Tim Southee

The upcoming IPL will also serve as a preparation avenue for overseas players ahead of the ODI World Cup, albeit in a different format.

New Zealand recently toured India for a white-ball series in January 2023. The second-string Blackcaps unit was whitewashed 3-0 in the ODI series and lost the T20I series by a 2-1 margin.

Noting that India is always a tough place to tour and experience playing in subcontinent conditions will be crucial in terms of preparations, Southee said:

“Any time that you get a chance to play in these conditions only adds to your experience of playing in this part of the world. It’s a tough place to play in and the more the guys have that experience, the better for our World Cup preparation.

“There are quite a few guys from New Zealand here (in this IPL) and that’s a positive to have those guys gaining experience of playing in these conditions, though it’s a different format. But it’s still the experience of playing in India, which counts."

KKR will open their IPL 2023 campaign with a contest against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Saturday, April 1.

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Will Umesh Yadav be in the playing XI for the WTC Final? Let us know what you think.