Umesh Yadav had a 10-wicket haul in his previous home Test before Pune. That was around a year ago against the West Indies. © AFP

With India's fast-bowling stocks as rich as they are, it's led to a situation that's posing very different problems, probably of the ilk that no other Indian team management has ever faced before. Umesh Yadav had a 10-wicket haul in his previous home Test before Pune. That was around a year ago against the West Indies.

Since then, the right-arm seamer has only played one more Test in Perth, out of a possible eight. In that period, the trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma have pretty much cemented themselves as the top dogs of the red-ball format.

So with the pecking order already established in the pace department, Umesh has been relegated to chance opportunities, like the one he was presented after the injury to Bumrah. The best he can do is to be ready when the chance arrives. And he certainly was ready in Pune, putting in a spirited performance to take twin 3-fers.

"This is part and parcel of the game, so these situations will keep coming but what I need to do in these situations is, even if I am not playing, I have to be ready for my chance," Umesh said on Sunday (October 13). "For that, it is important to remain focused, positive. I try that whatever matches I play - Ranji, India A - I get good match time. More you play matches, better you get. Whatever you bowl in nets, when you play a match, you know what to bowl in a match and it becomes very important. It's not in my hands. I can't say that I will play all Test matches. All the bowlers are doing well, there is a healthy competition and everyone will get their chances at some point or other. I am ready for that and that's my mindset."

This mindset referred to above is carefully cultivated over time. And it's nurtured by playing matches in order to keep the rhythm and fitness going. After the tour of Australia earlier this year, Umesh played a stellar role in the quarters and the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy as Vidarbha marched to back-to-back titles. He then participated in the A tour of the West Indies, before warming the benches in India's Test series win.

"When I didn't play in the Windies, selectors put me in India A but when there is a big gap with ODIs, T20s, I have only told selectors that whatever match is there, please let me play as match practice is very important for me. The season that was there, it was off, no Ranji, so I told them I would like to play," Umesh said.

However, there can only be so much match practice to be had. Apart from that, it's about working the socks off in training. "When you don't play cricket, you have only one thing in your hands, hard training. Negative points, lessen the errors, doubled the hard work, focus and mindset but not what happens or not."

The results are there to see for Umesh Yadav, even on a pitch which - in his own words - lacked pace. "We had to hit the deck hard to extract the pace," Umesh said. And hit the deck hard he did. His performance in the second Test may not have changed anything. But with chances few and far between, Umesh has made the one in Pune count.