Mohammed Shami, who had last participated in a T20I in 2018, tested positive for COVID-19 just before India’s home T20I series against Australia, therefore Umesh Yadav was called in to fill in. With Jasprit Bumrah not risked in the opening game, was also promoted directly to the starting XI ahead of Deepak Chahar, who was in the squad and is a standby player for the T20 World Cup that begins next month. Despite taking two wickets in his two overs, Umesh proved pricey as India dropped the first game of the series.
Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary batter, stated that the team management should be questioned as to why Deepak Chahar was chosen over Umesh because Chahar is a World Cup contender for India and may be called up to the main squad if one of the other pacers gets hurt. Chahar would therefore benefit from getting some experience during the lead-up to the major event.
In a talk on Sports Today, Gavaskar stated, ‘I think it’s a question best addressed to team management as to what their thought was to select someone like Umesh Yadav, who does not even play Deepak Chahar and is not on the World Cup roster of reserves or standbys. Deepak Chahar is also getting better following an injury’, he said.
But before entering a major competition like the World Cup, you need to have logged these leg miles. ‘A standby bowler like Deepak Chahar won’t perform well if someone gets hurt in Australia and he has to fill in because he won’t be able to find his rhythm’, he added.
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