Anil Kumble, Sanjay Bangar helped me find my rhythm: Umesh Yadav credits India coaches for revival

Umesh Yadav missed Kolkata Knight Riders’ first two matches of the Indian Premier League’s 10th season as he was asked to rest by the Board of Control for Cricket in India following a long home Test season. The 29-year-old played his first match of this season on Thursday, against Kings XI Punjab, and marked his return with a four-wicket haul – his third in Twenty20 cricket.

Yadav, thereby, continued his blistering form from India’s recently concluded Test season, in which he took 35 wickets in 14 matches starting with the tour of West Indies. Yadav also missed only one Test out of 13 in India’s grand home season that followed the West Indies series. The lanky and well-built pacer from Vidarbha took as many as 17 wickets in four Tests against Australia, which preceded the IPL, and now seems to have carried forward that momentum into the shortest format.

“It’s all a product of hard work,” Yadav said of his recent form. “I have been playing continuously for the last eight to 10 months. I’m playing most of the Test matches. Obviously, the more matches you play, the more you bowl, the more you get better and learn from your mistakes. Because of the number of matches I have played, my line and length has become better. I know in which areas I need to bowl and what are my strong points.”

Prior to the international season that just went by, Yadav, who is one of India’s fastest bowlers and regularly clocks upwards of 140 kmph, had a reputation of being too inconsistent in his line and length in his bid to bowl fast. However, that is all a thing of the past now. Yadav credited India head coach Anil Kumble and assistant coach Sanjay Bangar for his revival.

Major changes

“Our coaches, Anil Kumble and Sanjay Bangar, have an idea about bowling,” he said. “They spoke to me at length. After discussing my bowling with them and training a lot, I figured out what my line of thought should be as a fast bowler: when a wicket is required, when maiden overs are required. These are the major changes in my bowling.”

Asked specifically what the coaches told him to do differently, Yadav said they helped him find his rhythm. “When you go for runs or when you’re trying to bowl fast, you don’t understand your rhythm because sometimes you run fast, sometimes slow,” he said. “Coaches tell you that you’re running too fast, too slow, there is no rhythm, you’re missing something...Sanjay bhai had told me that, ‘sometimes you run too fast when you’re trying to bowl fast, and that messes up your line and length. If you enjoy yourself while running, you will feel nice and have control on your bowling.’”

Yadav also said that he enjoyed bowling on Eden Garden’s relaid surface, which was hard, and offered plenty of carry and bounce for the fast bowlers. However, it won’t be possible to have such wickets across India, he added.

“It’s a very good wicket,” Yadav said. “It helps fast bowling – there was good carry and bounce. We don’t get such wickets in Test cricket, so I’m very happy with it. You can’t have such wickets everywhere in India because each place has different soil. But wherever we can have such wickets, it’s good for fast bowlers...They have made an effort to make it lively so that we can have good matches. It’s good for batsmen and bowlers as it allows for a good competition between them.”