In recent times, the Indian pacer, Umesh Yadav has emerged as Virat Kohli’s go-to bowler on unresponsive Indian tracks and the former credits his “enormous mental strength” for keeping him in the game despite a stop-start international career for the past 10 years. Yadav has scalped 359 wickets across the formats, doesn’t feel the need to respond to perceptions of being a Test specialist as the time spent away from cricket more about honing skills and remaining battle-ready.

During a chat with PTI, Umesh said, “To be honest, I am really strong mentally and that makes a lot of difference. I don’t pay much heed to stuff like who is going to get a chance or whether I have to sit in the reserves. This is a game where anything is possible. A lot of factors go into it — form, conditions. It’s just about delivering and grabbing the given opportunities. So, I don’t think so much about other things.”

ALSO READ: Dilip Vengsarkar Remembers Why He Selected Virat Kohli

Yadav has taken 144 wickets in 46 Tests along with 106 wickets in 75 ODIs. He hasn’t played a lot of ODI cricket since October 2018, partly because of his bad economy rate. Despite less time in international cricket, he doesn’t feel like a victim.

While India’s Test campaign starts in December and Umesh probably will not feature in ODIs and T20Is immediately as he is ready to play any tournament. Yadav wanted to play in England but knows that it’s “out of question” this year.

Umesh said, “In India, whenever the season starts, whatever opportunities that come by, be it club matches, district games, I would just love to dive into a game. Match practice is a must and I am eager to be back on the field.”

Yadav will be 33 in October this year and knows that due to unforeseen circumstances, he has lost half a season of sport.

ALSO READ: VVS Laxman Praises Gautam Gambhir For His Unique Ability

The Indian fast bowler concluded, “I need to be positive and confident about when I am playing. The game is yet to start and don’t know when would it happen, I just want to practice and have a positive frame of mind. “Irrespective of the age factor, we all have lost 6-8 months of cricket.”