From U-16 double ton to A tour of SA, the rise of Upendra Yadav

The big hitting UP wicket keeper takes a step towards the national side with his first India A call

When Upendra Yadav joined skipper Karan Sharma against hosts Delhi in the quarter-final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy last March, Uttar Pradesh were 66/4. The match wasn’t even 17 overs old but UP were on the backfoot.

Upendra yadav playing a big shot during a Ranji Trophy game.  (HT FILE PHOTO)

Yadav started slowly, playing with soft hands. Having got his eye in, he switched gears playing big shots against the Pradeep Sangwan-led bowling attack. He added 129 for the fifth wicket with Sharma and put on 74 for the sixth with Sameer Choudhary to help UP post a challenging 280/7. In the presence of national selectors, Yadav scored a101-ball 112 with 11 fours and two sixes. Later, Yadav showed his competence as wicket-keeper, taking three catches as Delhi fell short by 46 runs. Yadav was adjudged Player of the Match.

He followed it up with another all-round performance in the semi-final against Gujarat, scoring an unbeaten 31 and taking two catches as UP won by five wickets. UP lost the final to Mumbai but Yadav had got noticed. The player from Kanpur is in the only wicket-keeper in the India A squad that will tour South Africa later this month.

“That (the Vijay Hazare Trophy) was a great learning experience. In cricket, no score is big or unachievable, but it requires courage and determination,” said Yadav ahead of his first international tour.

Yadav, 25, is known for hard-hitting batting, especially off the back foot, ever since his senior debut for UP, where he scored a duck against Railways, in 2016. And he loves batting on fast surfaces. “Fast pitches allow you to play your shots in a different rhythm,” he said.

“I enjoy keeping wickets as it helps me make innovations in batting. I don’t dare step out so that there would be little chance of being stumped or run out,” said Yadav whose father was with the state police.

Yadav trained for nearly two years at the Kanpur South Ground under SN Singh before shifting base to Kamla Club Ground to be coached by former UP skipper Shashikant Khandekar. “Singh Sir” and “Shashi Sir” are still his go-to coaches, said Yadav.

Yadav has almost 2000 plus runs in domestic cricket, including 1027 in 23 first- class matches, with four centuries and two half- centuries at an average of 48.90. He has over 150 dismissals, across formats.

“He (Upendra) is a complete cricketer who knows his job well. He was just 14 when he met me for the first time at the Kamla Club Academy. Within a few days of training, I realised his potential as a big-time cricketer,” said Khandekar on Friday.

“His double century against Rajasthan in Jaipur in an under-16 match was the beginning of his career and his ability to play with power makes him different,” said Khandekar. “He always plays his shots close to his body and can adapt to different conditions.”

Like others, Yadav had struggled with fitness during the lockdown but has been helped by Ali Zafar, the former UP cricketer who is now a BCCI-certified trainer.