Yadav emerged as India's most successful bowler in the World Cup last year with 18 wickets at 17.83 and a strike rate of 4.98 – third highest behind Australian Mitchell Starc and New Zealander Trent Boult, who took 22 wickets apiece.
It's a pity that Mohammed Shami's tremendous recovery from knee surgery post the 2015 World Cup gave way to a Grade II injury to his left hamstring within a couple of days of reaching Australia that ruled him out of the series.
But Shami's absence provides a perfect opportunity for India's genuine speedster Umesh Yadav to step up and shoulder the responsibility of a senior bowler in the company of the experienced Ishant Sharma.
Yadav emerged as India's most successful bowler in the World Cup last year with 18 wickets at 17.83 and a strike rate of 4.98 – third highest behind Australian Mitchell Starc and New Zealander Trent Boult, who took 22 wickets apiece.
The bouncy Australian pitches will be to Yadav's liking too.
"On any tour, you see the wicket and the ground, decide where to bowl, what variations to use. If you don't adjust, the pressure is on you," Yadav said before departing for Down Under.
For Yadav, who began his career with good pace but lost it a bit along the way to focus on line and length, speed is what matters. He is someone who has the ability to bowl fast and at the same time swing it.
"I only think of pace when I enter the ground, not about line and length," he said. "But with pace, I will focus on line and length. My line and length is bowling close to the off stump, trying to swing the ball also. If my wrist position is good, I can swing the ball well. If it is not my day, then even if I try bowling on the top of the off-stump, I tend to miss the line and length. That would result in giving easy deliveries to the batsmen," Yadav, who has appeared in 52 ODIs for 72 wickets, explained.
The 28-year-old from Nagpur said he has been an improved bowler since the last trip to Australia. "I feel some changes to my bowling have already started yielding results. Those improvements were visible in the recent Delhi and Mohali Tests (against South Africa). Be it with the new ball or the old, if you get a wicket, it is good for the team. I applied that and got results," Yadav said.
Like MS Dhoni said on the match eve on Monday that India will miss the services of Shami, Yadav will also find the absence of the Bengal speedster with whom he would have opened the bowling on the tour.
Shami and Yadav have shown in the past that they can form a formidable pair. In the 15 ODIs that they have played together, the Bengal pacer has 32 sticks while the Vidarbha speedster has 23. Among those matches, India have won eight with Shami picking up 23 wickets and Yadav, 15.
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