Umesh Yadav has started his maiden season playing county cricket in England after being signed by Middlesex to replace Shaheen Shah Afridi for the remaining 2022 season. The pace bowler of Pakistan travelled back home to get ready for the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, which officially started with a warm-up match in Colombo.
Umesh was originally scheduled to play five County Championship games beginning early next week, following a delayed visa clearance, he has now been brought into the team with immediate effect. He has been named to the lineup for Middlesex’s ongoing match against Worcestershire, which got underway on Monday in Northwood.
Head of Men’s Performance Cricket at the Club, Alan Coleman, remarked on the addition of Yadav to the Middlesex team: “It was always our intention to have an overseas international bowler with us throughout the duration of the season, and since Shaheen returned to Pakistan prior to the start of our Blast campaign we’ve been looking for the right player to replace him. Yadav is that man. He comes to us with a wealth of experience, he is a proven world-class performer, and can not only make a huge difference himself for the remainder of our Championship campaign and to our prospects in the Royal London Cup but will also be a fantastic role model for our younger bowlers to work alongside.”
Speaking further, Coleman said, “As a bowler he offers a huge amount. He delivers the ball from wide of the crease, can move the ball both ways, regularly tops 140 kph, and possesses a vicious short ball, so will be a real handful for opposition batters in English conditions.”
The 34-year-old bowler has taken 273 international wickets throughout all formats while playing for India in 52 Tests, 77 ODIS, and 7 T20Is.
