'When he is hot, he can be very hot': Gambhir 'absolutely shocked' at Indian pacer's price at IPL 2021 Auction
RCB decided to let go of the right-arm bowler, and Umesh had to put his name in the auction. The Indian pacer, fortunately, went to Delhi Capitals at his base price of ₹1 crore.
India fast bowler Umesh Yadav had a strong showcasing in the 2nd Test against Australia in Melbourne before the right-arm seamer picked up an injury and was ruled out of the series. Umesh had an insipid season with the ball for Royal Challengers Bangalore last year in the Indian Premier League 2020, but after a strong show in Australia, fans expected RCB to retain him.
But RCB decided to let go of the right-arm bowler, and Umesh had to put his name in the auction. The Indian pacer, fortunately, went to Delhi Capitals at his base price of ₹1 crore.
Speaking on Star Sports after the auction, former India cricketer and two-time IPL trophy-winning captain Gautam Gambhir expressed shock at Umesh's price.
"Umesh Yadav, I was absolutely shocked when he went for ₹1 crore, there are not many fast bowlers who can bowl 135-140. Yes, he can be a little hot and cold, but when he is hot he can be very hot, but then not many teams went for him," he said.
"It was a great buy for Delhi because Delhi wanted someone like Umesh Yadav with that kind of an experience because Ishant Sharma is not fit, they had to bowl someone like Tushar Deshpande, where there was not enough experience. Now they have got Umesh Yadav, so hopefully, he can do well for them," Gambhir added.
Former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra agreed with Gambhir and said: "No offence here, but when you talk about Jhye Richardson, Kyle Jamieson - he has done well for New Zealand in Test cricket. Jhye Richardson has done well for Perth, but somebody like Umesh Yadav, when you talk about Indian fast bowlers, going for 1 crore and these foreigner guys, unproven guys."
"Like earlier, I said Mitchell Starc, Lasith Malinga when you see these guys are doing well for the leagues around the world, but over here you are talking about new guys, and Umesh Yadav an experienced guy going only for ₹1 crore, I can’t understand that," Nehra signed off.
Apart from Umesh, Delhi Capitals also roped in England pacer Tom Curran, Australia batsmen Steve Smith and Sam Billings, and uncapped players Ripal Patel, Vishnu Vinod, Lukman Hussain Meriwala, and M Siddharth.
