Bharat Arun rues lack of opportunity for Umesh Yadav in South Africa and England

There is nothing flashy about Umesh Yadav. A man of real substance, Yadav has the ability, fitness and athleticism that very few possesses among the Indian fast bowlers. When the conditions are really hot, Umesh has always been handy as proved in Australia in the past, but his erratic length has proved to be a detriment to his career, which had promised a lot when he first burst onto the scene in the 2008 season of the Indian domestic cricket. 

Although he is expected to be handy in Australia in the following summer thanks to that brilliant reverse-swing ability, he would definitely try to be much better when India will take on the Windies tomorrow. However, if India decide to call up Jasprit Bumrah or Ishant Sharma to give them match-time ahead of the Australia series, then Umesh will have to make way. Does that make him a surplus then? Bharath Arun, the bowling coach, at least, doesn’t think so.

"It's really unfortunate that Umesh didn't get to play a lot in South Africa and in England. The reason being, bowlers who played, performed exceptionally well," Arun said, reported PTI.

"We look at Umesh as somebody who is quick. We also have a system where we rotate the bowlers so that they remain fresh and Umesh is a part of that (policy). We are extremely confident about what Umesh can bring to the table."

While Indian batsmen made merry in Rajkot, the only aberration was KL Rahul, who was the only batsman to have scored below 40 from India’s top seven batsmen. More than the number of runs, the manner of his dismissal continued to be a worrying trend as inswingers have been his kryptonite, more often than not. However, Arun believes Rahul is a long-term investment and should be persisted with.

"Technical weakness as what you perceive I do not know but Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Bangar had a good chat with him. As a coach, I feel Rahul is an outstanding player with tremendous potential, who should be persisted with. (In Rahul) We have a super batsman in the future for us," said Arun.

Windies will be bolstered by the comeback of Kemar Roach and regular skipper Jason Holder, who missed the first Test. With Shannon Gabriel being the pace spearhead, it will be a potent bowling attack and has the ability to make any team succumb to their pace. However, on flat Indian decks that might not be that big a threat, but India want to play safe.   

"It's not the question of experimenting but the position we are in, we would like to consolidate. We would like to put the best team on the park and I believe anyone in the 16 can play."