[In Pictures] Gujarat Titans’ Umesh Yadav offers prayers at Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain

Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer Umesh Yadav visited the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain during a popular Hindu festival Nag Panchami, dedicated to Lord Shiva. The former India pacer and his wife were seen offering prayers to the Lord on the auspicious festival. The visit comes ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions, scheduled to take place later this year.

Sharing the pictures on Instagram, Umesh captioned the post (translated version):

“Best wishes of Nagpanchami Har Har Mahadev.”

Umesh Yadav was last seen in action during IPL 2024. The speedster bagged eight wickets in seven matches. Overall, he has picked up 144 wickets in 148 IPL games. The 36-year-old will be looking forward to playing in the upcoming season.

Umesh has represented India in 57 Tests, 75 ODIs, and nine T20Is, picking up 288 wickets across formats. In T20s, he has scalped 201 wickets in 193 games at an economy rate of 8.33.

He last played for India in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2023. Pat Cummins-led Australia won that game by 209 runs.

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“Whenever Yadav has played in Tests, he has performed” – When Harbhajan Singh slammed selectors for moving on from Umesh Yadav

Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had slammed the selectors for moving on from Umesh Yadav after WTC 2023. The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that Umesh was too good to be ignored in Tests.

Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel in 2023 (via Cricket Addictor):

“I don’t think that selectors had a chat with Rahane, Pujara, or Umesh Yadav because whenever Yadav has played in Tests, he has performed.”

“I think the road is tough for a comeback (for these three players). However, they have served Indian cricket, and are renowned cricketers. The board should have had a chat with them. They should have been informed why they are not picked and what is a possible path for them in their careers,” he added.

Umesh Yadav has bagged 101 wickets in 32 home Tests, including two five-wicket hauls. He picked up 69 wickets in 25 away Tests, including a solitary fifer. He was part of India’s back-to-back Test series wins against Australia in 2017-18 and 2020-21 under Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy, respectively.