Virat Kohli jokes about Umesh Yadav’s possible new role in India batting order

Umesh Yadav has already established himself as one of the premier fast bowlers in the Indian cricket team and his numbers clearly show his domination in the recent times. Since replacing the injured Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the Test series against South Africa, he has taken 23 wickets in four encounters at an average of 13.65. Umesh, who took a five-wicket haul in the first ever Day-Night Test match against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens, also boasts of a strike rate of 23.1 - the best among bowlers who have played four matches in the ICC World Test Championship.

However, when it comes to world records, Umesh has broken quite a few of them with the bat. Umesh’s 10-ball 31 against South Africa in the 3rd Test in Ranchi was the fastest 30+ score in Test history and his strike rate of 310 was the highest for an innings of 30 or more runs in Test history. In the process, he slammed five sixes in an innings and the two sixes off the first two balls made him part of a list which includes Sachin Tendulkar and late West Indies batsman Foffie Williams (1948) as the only players to have hit their 1st 2 balls of a Test innings for sixes.

Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli was impressed by Umesh’s batting heroics and during a recent interview, he suggested a new and improved batting position for the talented fast bowler.

“If say Hardik is not fit as an all-rounder to play overseas, even if you play with five bowlers and just one spinner plays, you know as a batting unit, along with a keeper, and that one spinner either Ash (Ashwin) or Jaddu (Jadeja) ever plays, your batting till seven and then Umesh the way he is batting now, he can probably bat at No.3 as well as a pinch hitter (chuckles),” Kohli told India Today in an interview.