Fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who is a regular in the Indian Test squad, has chosen the best fast bowler in the world currently.
Umesh, who does not get ample opportunities in the playing XI in the presence of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, has impressed with his spells during Test matches at home.
The 32-year old has featured in 46 Test matches and scalped 144 wickets, with best figures of 6/88. However, Umesh is not in contention for a place in the Indian team in white-ball cricket.
During a recent interaction, Umesh was asked about the best bowler in the world presently. Umesh said it was a toss-up between Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Australian seamer Pat Cummins.
“At present, it is difficult to decide because you have Bumrah and Cummins. But, I might prefer Bumrah because he is doing well in all formats,” Umesh replied.
Also, Umesh, during the hour-long chat with Sportskeeda, was asked about the role-models he followed while young.
To which, Yadav named Indian legends Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan. “Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra are the role models I followed when I was young. Looking at them, I felt that we [Indians] had the fast bowling talent, and these players made me want to bowl fast and aggressively. I got the motivation that I wanted to be like them and play cricket professionally,” the Vidarbha cricketer revealed.
During the detailed interview, Umesh was also asked about his relationship with the players in the Indian team. Then, he tagged fellow Test specialist Ajinkya Rahane as his closest friend in the Indian team.
“Rahane is a very good friend, and we became very close when both of us started playing for the country. He made his limited-overs debut before me and I made my Test debut before him. But, even during our India A days, we became really close and formed a good friendship,” Umesh concluded.
