Umesh Yadav credits Zaheer Khan's advice for his success
What's the story?
Indian pacer Umesh Yadav thanked Zaheer Khan for his advice which kept him motivated to strive for success. Yadav is one of those pace bowlers in International Cricket who quickly rose to fame owing to the searing pace at which he bowled. However, his consistency has been hampered due the niggling injuries he manages to pick up on a regular basis. In order to deal with these setbacks, Yadav relies on the advice of Zaheer Khan and believes that it has helped him build his career so far.
“I am constantly learning from mistakes. You make mistakes as a youngster. But Zaheer bhai said one thing. When you are a junior and a newcomer in the team, the faster you learn from your mistakes, the better it will be for you...The faster you will learn. That's what I try and do,” said Yadav explaining the influence that Khan's words carry.
He also cleared that he has no intention of sacrificing his pace to achieve consistency in the length of the deliveries. However, he is likely to introduce new techniques to improve his bowling. “It is because of speed that I am here. The pace was my weapon, it has given me recognition...Now, I'm trying to balance swing and the length with the pace. That will be helpful.” he added.
In case you didn’t know...
Umesh Yadav is currently one of India's prominent bowlers and his pace is the main reason behind his international fame. He performed well for India in the last four ODIs against West Indies, in particular the fourth game, where he notched three wickets while conceding 36 runs.
The heart of the matter
This 29-year-old Indian pacer is well aware of the mistakes that he commits while bowling. However, he is keen on working hard in order to completely eliminate those mistakes. He said that he sits and analyses his faults so that he can work on them.
He agreed that every time he attempts at implicating the lessons he learnt from his previous failures, there are both positive and negative ramifications. He, however, tries to focus only on the positive outcomes and aims at improving his game. At present, he wishes to inculcate more discipline in his bowling by improving his line as well as master the skill of swinging the ball with pace.
What's next?
Umesh Yadav will now look forward to continuing his impressive spells to dominate the opponents and earn the spectators’ adulation with his bowling as India face West Indies in the fifth and final ODI of the ongoing series. The two teams will then meet at the same venue for a T20 match.
Author's take
Umesh Yadav is one of the most dependable bowlers in the current Indian squad. There is no denying that he proved to be expensive in the finals of the recently concluded Champions Trophy, 2017. However, he was able to plot a few crucial dismissals.
Zaheer Khan's advice will help him grow and improve his skills which will soon be showcased in his game. Moreover, Yadav is aware of his drawbacks which will make it simpler for him to work hard and improve his spells.