Pacer Gaurav Yadav has been a revelation for Pondicherry in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.
He was instrumental in his team’s away wins versus Delhi and Uttarakhand, with three five-wicket hauls (7/49 vs. Delhi, 6/40 and 7/53 vs. Uttarakhand) from the two matches. The win against Delhi was only Pondicherry’s second win in the elite group in the competition history!
He’s been the season’s leading wicket-taker so far, with 39 wickets from nine innings at an average of 11.92. He has had five five-wicket hauls, and been economical (2.55) too!
Asked for the most striking quality in the 32-year-old pacer, Pondicherry’s senior campaigner Arun Karthick on Thursday said: “As a player who’s been playing alongside him, I think he never gets tired. He always wants to bowl long spells.
“For a fast bowler, to do that game after game, I think that is a tremendous attitude to carry. Not many people can do that both in cold weather (in Delhi and Uttarakhand) and in this Pondicherry weather (hot). I think he’s one guy who’ll give his heart out for the team. Not many bowlers can bowl eight-over spells. He does that.”
This is Gaurav’s first season with Pondicherry. Until this season, he’d been playing for Madhya Pradesh.
“For him, it’s been a great season, since he had come out of Madhya Pradesh to represent Pondicherry and there was a kind of pressure for him to perform.
“He’s responded really well. We all know how good a bowler Gaurav is across formats. I think the way he’s bowling right now is tremendous. So, easily the best bowler (in the tournament). That’s why I think he’s got the numbers, which also tells the story,” said Karthick.
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