‘I was terrified’: When a young Umesh Yadav had to face Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman in a domestic match

Asked to face off off against the legends of the game Dravid and Laxman for the first time in a domestic match, Umesh Yadav, in a recent interview, revealed he was nervous.

India fast bowler Umesh Yadav recalled the Duleep Trophy 2008-09 match between Central Zone and South Zone in which he faced off against batting legends Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Dravid and Laxman are regarded as two of the best Test cricketers of all-time.. The duo revolutionised India’s middle-order in Test cricket under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy. Dravid and Laxman’s iconic partnership in the 2001 Test match against Australia at Eden Gardens in Australia is still remembered as one of the best innings in the longest format.

File image of Umesh Yadav and Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman together.(HT Collage)

Asked to face off against the legends of the game Dravid and Laxman for the first time in a domestic match, Umesh Yadav, in a recent interview, revealed he was nervous. 

“When I went to play the Duleep Trophy match and got to know the team I would be playing against and I would be bowling against the likes of (Rahul) Dravid and (VVS) Laxman - I was terrified. I had never imagined that I would bowl such a fine spell under such a pressure situation,” the right-arm pacer said in en episode of Cricbuzz’s Youtube chat show Spicy Pitch.

In the match, Yadav dismissed Laxman for 13 and Dravid for 7 in the first innings and bagged a five-wicket haul. The bowler gaiend confidence from the experience and 16 months later, he made his debut for India in an ODI match against Zimbabwe.

“I took a 5-wicket haul for South Zone and I got the big wickets of Dravid and Laxman. That gave me immense confidence,” Umesh said.

“People say that their situation is tough, or they’ve seen such a hard life and struggled their way here. I say everyone has a hard life, no one has it easy. The main thing is to have faith and if you believe in yourself you’ll find success and the space you need in your life, there’s nothing else to it,” Yadav further added.