Umesh Yadav India’s first ‘Fast’ bowler: Roberts

Former West Indian quickie Andy Roberts has said that Umesh Yadav is India’s first genuine ‘fast’ bowler during his chat with the PTI.

He said that he was ‘impressed’ with the Indian speedster and stressed on the importance of being aggressive in international cricket. He also added that he considers Mohammed Shami in the same league as Umesh Yadav by saying that he too is good and felt that he needs to be aggressive enough to reap rewards in this era of international cricket.

Javagal Srinath was also quick according to the West Indian great but he couldn’t bowl consistently in mid 90s mph which is crucial for a fast bowler.

Roberts also talked about former Indian great Kapil Dev stating that the World Cup winning captain relied more on swing rather than pace and that a fast bowler should have pace as his main weapon.

The slower delivery is considered a variation in today’s limited overs cricket and almost all the bowlers are expected to deliver it when needed, but Roberts who was one among the legendary line of fast bowlers from the Caribbean stressed upon the ‘quicker’ one being a variation. According to him, a bowler can bowl occasional quicker ones to deceive the batsman instead of the traditional ‘slower’ deliveries.