"He used to say, 'Ab tereko nahi khilaenge'" - Gaurav Yadav says constant taunts from Chandrakant Pandit forced him to move from MP to Puducherry

Gaurav Yadav was the star performer for Puducherry as they pulled off a shock win over domestic giants Delhi in a Ranji Trophy 2023-24 encounter at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.

With figures of 7-49 and 3-49, he ensured that his team cruised to a comfortable win. However, things weren't as rosy for the pacer towards the end of his stint with Madhya Pradesh.

Yadav was a mainstay in their bowling lineup, and the team won the Ranji Trophy in 2022. Speaking to News18, however, he said that a fallout with MP coach Chandrakant Pandit made him look for options elsewhere:

"I have moved this year only. I wasn’t getting enough chances in white-ball there. Last year, I was in the squad of 15, but I was made the 16th player on eve of the match. And throughout the season I remained 16th player.

"Mera sahi nahi chal raha tha coach se to maine decision le liya idhar aane ka. (Things were not going well between me and the coach, so I took the decision to come here.) I was the highest-wicket taker in Vijay Hazare for MP before Chandu sir came. Sir completely removed me from white-ball set-up."

He added:

"It’s not an easy decision to leave your home and play. We were doing good, were a champion (Ranji Trophy 2022) team. I was the highest wicket-taker in fast bowlers that season and took six wickets in the final. Chandu sir used to directly say to me ‘ab tereko nahi khilaenge (from now, you will not be played).’"

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Gaurav Yadav says he couldn't play for CSK because of Chandrakant Pandit and MPCA

Gaurav Yadav also claimed that he once had a potential opportunity to travel with the Chennai Super Kings as a net bowler and potentially even play for them. However, he couldn't get permission from the coach and the MPCA.

"I got call from Chennai Super Kings to come and play for them," said Yadav. "They were taking me to UAE. CSK management e-mailed for taking me as a net bowler."

"Ek mahine se e-mail daala tha CSK waalo ne, but MPCA waalo ne mana kar diya ki available nahi hai (Since one month, CSK had mailed, but the MPCA told them that I'm not available). I tried talking to them, but they said (that) if you go, then stay there, we won’t play you. When teams called for trials also, I wasn’t allowed to go," he added.

Gaurav Yadav further said it was his MP teammate and all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer who pulled some strings to ensure that he got in touch with Puducherry.

"I have played against them (Puducherry) earlier so knew that if fast bowling is pushed up, team will get close to qualifying," said Yadav.

"I approached them to play here. Actually, Venkatesh Iyer spoke to them for me. He told them about me, and they had already seen me and agreed instantly," he added.

After the morale-boosting win against Delhi, Puducherry play their next game against Baroda on January 12.