Yadav back to full fitness

Umesh Yadav, the India fast bowler, has said that he has recovered completely from the shin injury he picked up during India's tour of Australia. Yadav, who is currently in Mohali to play for Central Zone in the Deodhar Trophy, was not rested for the Asia Cup. "I'm back to full fitness," Yadav told the Hindustan Times. "I'm not concentrating on anything other than achieving my goals, like working on my bowling and maintaining my fitness."

Yadav was called the "find of the tour" by team-mate Gautam Gambhir after he impressed with his speed and aggression in the Test series. He finished with 14 wickets from four Tests and his strike rate of 50.5 was the best among India's bowlers. But in a move to protect the fast bowlers, Yadav was rotated during the one-day triangular series, where he finished with just five wickets from six matches. "As a fast bowler, you cannot go on playing matches for long periods as it exposes you to injuries, besides weakening your muscles," Yadav said.

Yadav's focus is now to hit peak form as soon as possible and the Deodhar trophy opener today against South Zone will be a good test. He pointed out that he would have to adjust from bowling on the fast and bouncy tracks in Australia to the much slower and flatter pitches in India. One factor in his favour is that the tournament is being played in Mohali, where the pitch is more generous to the fast bowlers, and Yadav said he would like to take advantage of that fact.

"The conditions don't matter much. Yes, you get more bounce and pace on the wickets abroad while in India, I can only name a few places like Bangalore and Mohali which are a bit pace-friendly. But as a bowler, all you have to look for is the correct line and length."