Umesh Yadav set to miss rest of Melbourne Test and third Test too

While an official confirmation is awaited, Umesh's injury leaves India thinner on pace resources. They are already without Ishant Sharma, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami. 
Umesh Yadav's injury might hand Navdeep Saini a Test cap. (Photo | AP)
Umesh Yadav's injury might hand Navdeep Saini a Test cap. (Photo | AP)

CHENNAI: India's injury woes keep growing. 

On Monday, Umesh Yadav limped off while bowling his fourth over and the BCCI stated that he has pain in the calf. The pacer was taken for scans at the end of the day's play. It is understood that he will not play any further part in Melbourne and won't be available for the third Test too, which is beginning on January 7.

While an official confirmation is awaited, Umesh's injury leaves India thinner on pace resources. They are already without Ishant Sharma, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami. 

The Indians would consider themselves lucky for fielding five bowlers in the ongoing Test. Had they not picked Ravindra Jadeja, it could have left them in a precarious position. However, Umesh's absence will make life harder for them in the remainder of the series.

Apart from having Navdeep Saini, who is yet to feature in Tests, in the squad, India have Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan and Kartik Tyagi in the reserves. Of them, Saini has impressed the team management the most with his ability to bowl at 150 kmph. It could potentially hand him a debut in the third Test. 

This could mean that India will be handing debuts to two pacers in successive Tests in the same series for the first time since the 1989 tour of Pakistan. Then, Salil Ankola and Vivek Razdan played in the first and second Tests. The last time two pacers made their Test debuts for India in the same series was in 2011, when Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron made their debuts against the West Indies at home.

Saini featured in the first two ODIs in Sydney and was expensive in both matches that India lost. Earmarked as one for the future, he missed the T20s with a niggle, but made a comeback in the second practice match where he picked up three wickets in the first innings before going wicketless in the second. One thing that could go against Saini is he has gone for runs in all the three matches he has played on this tour.

A safe bet would be Thakur, who already has one Test to his name. But he is there only as a cover. A completely off-field call could be to play Natarajan, who had impressive returns in the T20Is in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Shami. Told to stay back in Australia, he has been working under the watchful eyes of bowling coach Bharath Arun. In 20 first-class matches, Natarajan has 64 wickets at an average of 27.03.
 

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