Mayank Yadav burst into international cricket with a sizzle, going past 150 km/h in Gwalior. He made a pace gun-toting return for his first outing in the T20I between India and Bangladesh. His pace and raw bounce did pose a bit of a challenge for the Bangladesh batters, who never managed to get accustomed to him bowling short-of-length stuff that was short enough to be threatening but not so short as to tempt shots all over him.
Yadav started his international career with a maiden over and soon picked up the wicket of experienced all-rounder Mahmudullah. With such a start, it was almost evident that the Bangladesh team was up for a tough challenge in the rest of the series.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto felt that was not quite how it looked: “We have some similar fast bowlers in the nets. I don’t think we were too worried about Mayank Yadav—he is a good bowler,” he said after India won by 7 wickets, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
The Bangladesh T20I squad presently does not have a regular out-and-out fast bowler other than the solitary regular in Taskin Ahmed, who has been managing to cross 140 km/h consistently. The likes of young Nahid Rana feature in the Test squad, and he has recently touched close to 150 km/h.
Yadav received some stick in the latter part of the spell as Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Rishad Hossain looked to thrive off his pace, exchanging a few boundaries. Yadav’s figures, though, read a decent 21 runs given away in four overs with one wicket taken.
Yadav became prominent during IPL 2024 when he consistently breached 150 km/h for the Lucknow Super Giants before a side strain ended his tournament prematurely. The BCCI medical staff at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru have since monitored Yadav closely. Sunday’s match was his first taste of competitive cricket in five months.
After the match, Shanto acknowledged that his side struggles to consistently score over 180 runs in the shortest format of the game. Batting has been Bangladesh’s sustained Achilles heel. The powerplays have been pretty miserable—they could manage only 39 for two in six overs, wrapping up their innings at a meager total of 127 runs, which India chased down in just 11.5 overs.
“We have the potential, but we must work on our skills. We’ve been batting this way for the last decade, with some occasional success. There needs to be changes, especially in our practice methods back home,” Shanto said, identifying that conditions in Bangladesh are not great for high-scoring T20 games.
“We play on pitches that favor 140-150 runs. Our batters struggle to score 180 runs. While the wickets play a role, skills and mentality also need consideration,” he signed off after the thumping defeat.
