EXCLUSIVE - There is a perception that I can't play limited overs cricket, aiming for a good IPL 2022 outing to make it back to the Indian ODI and T20I teams, says Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav was last seen in an India jersey in limited overs cricket in February 2019, in a T20I match against Australia in Visakhapatnam. Since then, he has only been playing Test cricket. With the next edition of the ICC T20 World Cup coming up in Australia at the end of the year, the 34-year-old fast bowler is eager to make a comeback to the Indian white-ball teams. Umesh, who has played only 7 T20Is in his career so far and taken 9 wickets, is eyeing the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 edition as a stepping stone to make it to the Indian limited-overs side. He spoke to TimesofIndia.com recently about this and much more. He hasn't played an ODI since October 2018. Umesh will be playing for two time IPL champions the Kolkata Knight Riders this season, a team he has played for earlier as well. KKR picked up the experienced pacer at his base price of Rs. 2 crore. Not getting enough opportunities in white-ball cricket almost cost Umesh an IPL contract this time. The 34-year-old from Nagpur, who has 119 wickets in 121 IPL matches so far, went unsold twice in the IPL 2022 player auction. However, when the auctioneer took his name for the third time, KKR showed faith in the Indian pacer and bought him for his base price. Umesh was part of the victorious KKR team that clinched the IPL title in the 2014 edition.

Image credit: KKR/BCCI/IPLIn an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia.com, the 34-year-old Umesh, who has 158 Test wickets and 106 ODI wickets under his belt, spoke about KKR's title chances this year, Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy that took India to their second Test series win in Australia, India's dismal show in South Africa, new India captain Rohit Sharma and much more. You have represented Delhi