Mayank Yadav has been a bright spark in the 2024 IPL, regularly bowling above 150 km/h but once touching as high as 156.7 km/h in one of the games. That form must have impressed the selectors so much that despite only returning from injury after being out of domestic cricket for some time, Mayank received his first-ever international call-up for the T20I series against Bangladesh.
He debuted India during the first T20I in Gwalior, bowling a maiden over and taking his first international wicket by dismissing Mahmudullah. During his debut match, he timed speeds higher than 149 km/h on many occasions, and in Delhi, during the second T20I, he timed as quickly as 146.7 km/h several times. However, he has yet to cross the 150 km/h barrier in international cricket.
Most notably, during commentary, Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal mentioned, “Mayank Yadav has not touched 150 in this series.” Fellow commentator Murali Kartik shot back, “Neither has Bangladesh,” suggesting the opposition’s general bowling struggles.
In the Gwalior T20I, Bangladesh was bowled out for just 127 runs. In the second encounter in Delhi, they could manage only 135/9 while chasing 222 runs. Yadav again did his bit by picking up Jaker Ali for 1 run in the second match.
There’s much speculation about whether Mayank finds a place in the Indian squad in the ensuing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. However, former Indian pacer RP Singh said that Yadav was getting ahead of himself by preparing for the longer format. “I think Akash Deep should be in Australia. His bowling style suits the Australian conditions more,” Singh said. He also pointed out that Yadav lacked various other skills and variations in his bowling. “Mayank is still in the developing phase.”
