Pacer Umesh Yadav has said that the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) would be really important for him if he has to play white-ball cricket for India once again.
In the upcoming IPL, Umesh will be representing the Delhi Capitals after he was bought by the franchise for INR 1 crore in the players' auction held in February this year.
"I think it depends on my performance. If I do well in the IPL this year, I may be considered for the [white-ball] national side again. I feel the IPL will be really important for me if I have to play white-ball for India again, and so I am not looking too far ahead at the moment. You will be noticed only if you do well in it, after which it will be decided whether you fit in the World Cup side or not," Umesh told ESPNcricinfo.
"So my only goal now is to do well in the IPL. You also need to do better than the current crop of fast bowlers in the national side if you have to enter the limited-overs teams," he added.
Umesh Yadav has so far played 48 Test matches in his career and he has played most of the matches at home. However, the pacer feels that he can push his body for the next two three years.
"As far as the rest of my career is concerned, thank god that relatively I haven't had that many injuries. And that is satisfying as a fast bowler, because once a fast bowler starts getting injured regularly, he tends to start struggling, which ultimately reduces his [playing] life. After an injury, there is the recovery, and then you need rehab, which consumes a lot of time, which you can never get back. But I have lost very little time to injury periods, which has kind of helped me lengthen my career. So I haven't had to compromise a lot on my pace as well," said Umesh.
"I am 33 now and I know that I can mostly pull my body for another two or three years, and there will be some youngsters who will be arriving [to play]. I feel this is just healthy, because it ultimately ends up benefiting the team. When you have five or six fast bowlers on a tour of four or five Tests, you can play each one of them for two games to help reduce their stress and workload, so it helps that pack [of fast bowlers] play for longer. There is support for every bowler, everyone looks to give their best, and so whoever keeps doing the best keeps getting chances," he added.
Even after performing at-home Tests, Umesh is not a sure starter in the playing XI as Virat Kohli-led India has serious bench strength in the pace department. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant are sure starters in the longest format while Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur are good quality options as well.
"I just think that I have developed the required line and length while keeping on playing in Asia. The more you play in particular conditions, the more your body starts adapting to it. I haven't done a lot different [while playing in India]; all bowlers know that the new ball swings whereas the old one reverses in India, which is what I have also focused on. It is just that I started bowling a particular line and length here as compared to overseas. Playing a lot in Asia has helped me gain the required experience and develop that mindset of bowling well here," said Umesh.
( With inputs from ANI )
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