Aakash Chopra has lauded the Gujarat Titans (GT) for picking up Umesh Yadav at the IPL 2024 auction. The former opener stated that the franchise has played a masterstroke by picking up Umesh for Rs 5.80 crore at the auction.
Chopra provided the reasoning behind buying the experienced pacer, claiming the franchise sees him as a backup for Mohammed Shami and as their second new ball bowler in the absence of Hardik Pandya.
Highlighting that former skipper Pandya used to bowl in the powerplay and how the ball behaves under the lights at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Chopra said on his YouTube channel:
“It’s the perfect pick; I’ll tell you why. When you play in Gujarat under the lights, the ball moves. You need a backup for Shami and someone who can bowl in tandem with him in the powerplay.”
Chopra talked about how the pacer can come in as an impact player for the Titans due to the new rule change. He also stated that this will allow GT to have an extra pacer while having a balanced XI.
“Umesh Yadav might come in as an impact player. He can just bowl and whack a few, all the while being a new ball specialist. This makes Mohit (Sharma) your back-end bowler.”
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