21-year-old Mayank Yadav has got the attention of the cricket world amid his rocking IPL 2024 debut on Saturday night in Lucknow.
Scouted by the Lucknow Super Giants a couple of years ago, and being taken care of by the franchise in this interval for his injuries, Mayank Yadav vindicated the faith, investments, and expectations of LSG straightaway on his IPL debut against Punjab Kings.
More than his match-winning figures of 3/27, the talk around Mayank Yadav is his high pace. Yadav’s first ball in the IPL was clocked at 147 KPH and he cracked it up to 155.8 KPH in his second over. He bounced out three top-order Punjab batters and helped LSG come back in the game after a century opening stand between Bairstow and Shikhar Dhawan.
Although it is only one match, fans are excited to see what lies in the future for Mayank Yadav. Such a performance, and the manner of his bowling, must have also turned heads in the BCCI selection committee.
India’s two biggest assignments this year are the T20 World Cup in June and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in November-January in Australia. There is a strong belief among the fans that Mayank, aged 21, should be fast-tracked into the national team setup, and be given the time of the next 6-7 months and made ready for the BGT series in Australia. And there are good reasons for the same.
3 Reasons Why BCCI Should Groom Mayank Yadav For Border-Gavaskar Test Series 2024/25 In Australia:
High pace that would be useful on Australian pitches
With his high pace, Mayank Yadav will be too hot to handle for the Australian batters on the Australian pitches. Recently, the schedule for the BGT 2024/25 series was released. The first three Tests will be played in Perth, Adelaide (day-night) and Brisbane, all three venues are among the best for fast bowlers.s
His pace and short bursts could be the point of difference
While Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj are India’s first-choice three pacers, India could opt to play someone like Mayank as the fourth pacer instead of Shardul, Mukesh, or Prasidh. With the spinners, either or both of Jadeja and Ashwin providing great control, Mayank, with his extreme speeds, could be used in short bursts to hurry up the Aussie batters. Australia and South Africa are the two places in the world where high pace really makes a huge difference.
Mayank Yadav has good control on his lines and lengths
While his pace is exciting, the promising factor about Mayank’s IPL debut performance was his control on lines and lengths. We have seen Umran Malik’s downfall since last year because he wasn’t able to control his line and lengths and would go awry, resulting in the leaking of runs and releasing of pressure.
But Mayank showed impressive control over his bowling areas, especially for someone on his IPL debut. If he could translate this into the longer format, even for spells of 4 overs, it would be great for him and Team India. Yadav treads on the back-of-length area and also aims to attack the stumps and body of the batter, which makes him a wicket-taking option.
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