Umesh Yadav credits Bharat Arun for his performance

India completed their domestic Test season successfully where Yadav’s performance was one of the major highlights. He gave credit to newly appointed bowling coach Arun who was picked over Zaheer Khan for the turnaround.

"Yes, last season has been one of my best in Test cricket where I showed a lot of consistency. But having shown that level of consistency, I would attribute the success to the efforts I had put in to rectify my mistakes of preceding seasons," Umesh said as reported by PTI.

"The results showed because I worked on my bowling when I was getting in and out of the team. Bharat Arun sir used to work a lot with me when I wasn't part of the playing XI. When I would be in Nagpur, it would be Subroto Banerjee sir (former India seamer) who would work on my technique. I am indebted to both," Umesh, who played 12 out of India's 13 Tests, said.

During this season, India played four Test series against Australia where Umesh got 17 wickets. The 29-year-old is eagerly waiting for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour where he wants to repeat that performance again. In this tour, Kookaburra balls will be used for Tests instead of the 'SG Test' balls which were used for matches in India.

"Kookaburra balls on flat decks can be a challenge after the ball gets semi-old (25 overs). The best chance to get quick wickets with red kookaburra is the first 15 overs when the seam remains pronounced. Once the seam flattens out, it would be a challenge for the fast bowlers," he cleared.

Concerns were raised about Umesh not getting adequate rest like the other bowlers as he kept appearing in as many as 12 Test matches, but the pacer has so far proved his fitness. He attributed it to working hard with his strong body build-up.

"I have done a lot of power training to strengthen my core which is an absolute must for a fast bowler. I have very strong hamstrings which has helped me bowl long spells.

"The stronger your legs are, the faster you can bowl. I would also like to thank our trainer Shankar Basu, who has helped me maintain fitness of highest standard," Umesh said.

Umesh’s performance with the ball has cemented his place in the Test playing XI, but in the shorter format of the game the management picked Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah over him and he becomes the third choice for them.

"Well, I am not really worried about all these things because team management has a specific plan in mind. Last season, I played a lot of Test matches while Bhuvi and Jasprit played lot more ODIs. I am happy because I played a lot of international matches last season with a fair bit of success," Yadav said.