I can't see why Umesh Yadav would not do well for India in T20 cricket: KKR Pacer Tim Southee

New Zealand and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Tim Southee has hailed his teammate Umesh Yadav for giving excellent performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 so far. The Kiwi pacer has emphasized on the fact that Umesh can make his comeback to India’s T20I side as well.

Maintaining a disciplined line and length, the 34-year-old has been excellent for the two-time champions this season, giving crucial breakthroughs in the field restrictions. Talking about his numbers in IPL 2022, the express pacer has taken 10 wickets from five matches so far, at an economy of 6.60 while bowling the highest number of dot balls (62).

The right-arm pacer has scalped some big fishes this season including run-machine Virat Kohli and Indian skipper Rohit Sharma inside the powerplay. Against Punjab Kings, Umesh bowled an excellent double-wicket maiden in the middle overs to restrict the Kings to 137. To note, Umesh was bought by KKR at his base price of INR two crore in the IPL 2022 mega auction.

I am a huge fan of Umesh Yadav: Tim Southee

“I’m a fan of Umesh, he is a tremendous bowler. I was fortunate enough to share the new ball with him a few times when we both played at RCB. The way he’s been managed suits Umesh’s style of bowling. If he keeps performing the way he’s been doing I can’t see why he would not do well for India in T20 cricket,” Southee was quoted by mykhel.com.

Applauding the team management, Southee said that the credit should go to the team’s think tank for bringing the best out of Umesh.

“The way the KKR has used him has been outstanding. (Head coach) Brendon (McCullum) and (captain) Shreyas (Iyer) have used him obviously as an attacking weapon with the new ball, maximising his strengths with the new ball and coming back in the middle overs to try and pick up wickets, making the phase a bit easier,” Southee added.

Meanwhile, the two-time champions will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next fixture, to be played on April 15 (Friday), at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.