India, Feb. 13 -- Cricketer Umesh Yadav, who last represented India in the 2023 ICC World Test Championship Final, opens up about his journey on and off the field. Speaking about the struggle in his early years in Vidarbha, Maharashtra, the 37-year-old says, "The first image that comes to mind is of my father returning home from the coal mines, covered in coal dust... Money was handled carefully. Needs came first, and everything else waited." Despite the hardships, Umesh fell in love with cricket at a young age, though playing for India wasn't something he had initially imagined. "There was no talk of professional cricket or playing for India. I played because I enjoyed it," he recalls. But when it turned serious, organised cricket brought its own reality checks, but the challenges failed to deter him. "If you really want to play, you find a way and keep turning up," he adds. His efforts were rewarded when, in 2011, he made his debut for India in Tests. "You walk into the Indian dressing room, and everything suddenly feels bigger than you imagined. Sachin (Tendulkar, former cricketer) would stand right beside me and ask me to just bowl the way I always did," he recalls, still beaming with pride. Yet, the year the pacer's debut for India was a bittersweet one because that same year, not only did he lose his mother, but he also suffered an Achilles injury that forced him into rehab for months. "The routine you have lived with for years disappears. You realise cricket is not just what you do. It is how you have lived your life," he says. Now, as he works with the LegaXy Sports Academy, giving back feels essential. His message remains clear: "Rejection does not mean the end. Sometimes it just means the journey takes longer."...