Vijay Yadav

A string of notable performances on the domestic circuit propelled Vijay Yadav into the Indian team in the early 90s. A capable wicketkeeper with an excellent record of catches - keeping to Kapil Dev and Chetan Sharma for Haryana must have helped - Yadav was also a lower-order batsman who liked to score runs at a nifty rate. Indeed his batting and keeping seemed to be a natural for limited overs cricket and he did play in a good number of such games for the country in the early and mid 90s. He was given the big break in the one off Test against Zimbabwe in 1993 and performed creditably both behind the stumps and in front of them.

Yadav played a notable part in Haryana's Ranji Trophy triumph in 1990-91, getting runs handsomely and taking 24 catches and six stumpings. He did even better with the bat the next season, as well as snaring another 25 victims. These performances saw him picked for the 1992-93 tour of South Africa as understudy to Kiran More. Following his Test debut against Zimbabwe, he went on the tour of Sri Lanka in 1993-94, again as understudy to More. But even as More's international career ground to a halt, Mongia overtook Yadav for the coveted position as India's No. 1 wicketkeeper. Yadav's appearances thereafter were restricted to a few ODI's.
Partab Ramchand