Staying fit has helped Umesh take workload

To be express is a unique thing. To bowl at 140150 kmph is something very unique. It is raw talent, you can’t teach that.

Five years ago, when the Indian team toured Australia for the Test series in 2011-12, one fast bowler who made the former Australian pace great Glenn McGrath sit up and take notice was Umesh Yadav.

McGrath was impressed with his raw pace and attitude when he bowled in the first Test at the MCG where he claimed seven wickets even as he often strayed in his line and length. Yadav was just playing his third Test then.

Cut to 2017, Yadav has played 28 more Tests, claiming 88 wickets with a strike rate of 59.7. And McGrath’s is not surprised.

Yadav had a stellar home season where he finished with 30 wickets in 12 Tests in the long home season. However, what is most striking is that he bowled the most number of overs compared to other Indian pacers without getting injured. That speaks volumes of Yadav’s vast improvement in workload management.

“I always say being fit is not so much about how long you can bowl. It is about how quickly you recover .... I think that has helped Umesh and he is bowling well with confidence, but a fast bowler needs an off season. If you keep bowling whole year without an off season, sooner or later injuries are going to creep in.

“You got to have a break to get that strength and fitness back. Indian bowlers are going well and he (Yadav) knows how to recover and when you know that, you got fewer chances of injuries,” said McGrath, who, with the MRF Pace Foundation, will conduct a two-day bowling camp with Mumbai bowlers.

“Yadav is bowling really well at the moment. He is up match after match. He is little bit older than what was a couple of years ago, he is also a lot more experienced...and he knows, (or) he should know, how to prepare himself, how to recover,” he added.

While fast bowlers around the world are frequently breaking down, Yadav is a rarity for remaining injury-free during the entire home season.

“Everyone wants to bowl fast, I wanted to bowl fast, but no one is express. To be express is a unique thing. To bowl at 140-150 kmph is something very unique. It is raw talent, you can’t teach that,” said McGrath.

“Express bowlers are very rare and I’m always on the lookout for one. India is probably the toughest place in the world to be a fast bowler, but that plays a part. But, as I said, (bowling) 150 plus (kmph) is rare,” he added.