IPL 2018: Umesh Yadav’s Inclusion In England Tour Is A 'Well Deserved Selection': Parthiv Patel

One of the stories of this ongoing Indian Premier League is Umesh Yadav’s resurgence in white-ball cricket. While the India pacer is an indispensable part of the Test team, the same cannot be said about limited-overs format. The fact that his last and only T20 appearance came way back in 2012 pretty much proves that. On the other hand, his last ODI appearance came last year.

However, the speedster is back in the T20 and ODI teams for the tour of Ireland and England following his sensational performances this season. On Monday (May 14), he once again sizzled with the ball as his 3-wicket haul helped Royal Challengers Bangalore pummel Kings XI Punjab by 10 wickets.

Virat Kohli’s decision to bowl first was totally backed by his bowlers as they hardly put a foot wrong on a wicket that had seen 459 runs being scored a couple of days back. The Royal Challengers bundled up Kings XI for a paltry 88 before Parthiv Patel and Kohli sealed the game with 71 balls to spare.

IPL 2018: Umesh Yadav’s Inclusion In England Tour Is A 'Well Deserved Selection': Parthiv Patel
Credits: BCCI/IPL

Umesh laid the foundation for the thumping win. The right-arm pacer derailed Kings XI’s innings by dismissing KL Rahul and Chris Gayle inside an over.  The Ravichandran Ashwin-led side never recovered from those two big setbacks and was out for a below-par total. Towards the end, he dismissed Andrew Tye for a duck to finish with impressive figures of three for 23 off his four overs.

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Umesh Yadav IPL 2018
Umesh Yadav took three wickets against KXIP. (Credits: BCCI)

Following the win, Parthiv opined that Umesh’s selection to India’s limited-overs squads for their upcoming tour of England is a good one.

“He (Umesh) is bowling brilliantly. He was India’s best bowler in their last home season. And this IPL, he has been magnificent and has been rewarded with a place in the ODI and T20I squads for England tour. It’s a well-deserved selection. He is thinking right and is executing his plans to perfection,” said Parthiv at the post-match press conference.

The Royal Challengers now need to win their remaining two matches and hope that other results go their way as they seek to make it to the playoffs.  Parthiv is confident the team would do well in the remaining games.

“This tournament is all about momentum. A couple of wins and you are back on track. Say two games before, we (RCB) weren’t in a good shape but we have fought hard and I’m confident we’ll do well in the rest of our games,” Parthiv expressed.

Asked about his own batting form, Parthiv, who has scored 119 runs in four games including a half-century, said:

“I feel that I’m in a good space. I have stuck to my natural game. Every time I have tried to slog in the past, I’ve gotten out. I strongly believe I can hit boundaries by playing normal cricketing shots.”

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