Rohit Sharma Reveals The Reason Behind The Inclusion Of Umesh Yadav Ahead Of The Australia T20I Series

Ahead of the three-match home T20I series against Australia, India dealt a major blow on 17 September 2022. Indian selectors selected Mohammed Shami to prepare him as a backup for Jasprit Bumrah in that series. But, he got infected with Covid-19. Now, on 18 September, the Board confirmed that Umesh Yadav will replace Shami for the series.

However, some fans were clueless about the inclusion of Umesh Yadav to replace Shami for the series. But, ahead of the series, Rohit Sharma shared the exact reason behind the decision in the pre-match press conference. He said that Umesh has been picked up based on his good run of form in the last edition of the Indian T20 League.

“We saw how Umesh Yadav bowled in the Indian Premier League 2022.” – Rohit Sharma

While speaking in the pre-match press conference, Rohit said that players like Shami and Umesh are proven players throughout all these years. He said: “Guys like Umesh, Shami, who have been bowling for a long time. They do not need to be playing a format to be considered. They have proven themselves as players in whichever format they have played. We understand the quality, it is the new guys on whom it will depend whether they have played this format or not. But guys like Umesh and Shami, if they are fit and fine, they will be called back.”

The Indian skipper also praised Umesh for his bowling performance in the Indian T20 League 2022. “We don’t need to look at their form, we saw how Umesh bowled in the Indian T20 League. He bowled really well, he swings the ball and bowls fast. That was the thought, pretty simple actually. It was not much of a discussion for us. Keeping in mind World Cup is around the corner, we have tried a lot of players. We are very much clear in our thought process and how we want to move forward.” Rohit added.

Rohit also said that Umesh Yadav is being considered also because many other players are injured. “There were few options, but few of them are injured like Prasidh (Krishna). Siraj is playing county, we do not want him to fly all the way, maybe play one or two games. That won’t be fair. Obviously, Shami had an unfortunate incident with him. Avesh was quite sick in the Asia Cup and he needs some time to recover. From a fitness point of view, he needed some time and rebuild his fitness. All those things were considered.” Rohit Sharma concluded.