India’s fast bowling sensation, Mayank YadavMade a stunning debut in international cricket in the first T20I against Bangladesh, lighting up the pace arms with deliveries close to 150 kmph at the new Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior.
Mayank Yadav left his raw pace and bounce Bangladesh struck on the back foot, but what really stood out was his control over his length as he consistently batted short but prevented strikes from happening with horizontal bats in the first T20I on 6 October.
Mayank Yadav’s pace is dazzling, but Najmul Hossain Shanto avoids the danger
The 22-year-old pacer began his international career in style, making a maiden debut, followed by a major breakthrough, knocking out veteran Bangladeshi Mahmudullah in the next over.
His fiery spell indicated that the Bangladeshis were in for a tough time against him. Despite this, the Bangladesh captain Najmul Hussain Shanto He says his batting regularly takes practice against fast bowlers like Mayank in the nets.
However, the fact is that Bangladesh’s current squad does not have many express bowlers apart from Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana, who hit 140+ kmph consistently, but Najmul Hossain Shanto claims to have experience of facing high-speed deliveries.
The Bangladesh skipper insisted that Bangladesh have pacers of the same caliber as Mayank and they are not too worried about facing the young Indian gun. However, Shanto acknowledged Mayank’s talent but played down his being a major threat for the Tigers.
We have similar fast bowlers in the nets: Najmul Hossain Shanto over Mayank Yadav
In the post-match press conference after India won the first T20I by seven wickets in Gwalior, Najmul Hossain Shanto said, “We have similar fast bowlers in the nets. I think we didn’t worry too much about Mayank Yadav. But he is a good baller.
The Bangladesh captain feels that the nature of the pitches in Bangladesh does not favor high-scoring T20 matches and this affects the team’s overall batting performance. He openly admitted that the team is struggling to consistently score 180 or more in T20I cricket.
Najmul Hossain Shanto said, “We have the ability but we have room to improve our skills. We have been fighting this way for the last 10 years. Sometimes we do well. We need to make some changes, maybe where we practice at home.
Mayank Yadav shines on his India debut
Mayank dropped a couple of boundaries later on his India debut, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Rishad Hossain used his pace to direct balls into the third-man region, but the overall performance of the debutant temp was impressive.
In four overs, the right-arm pacer conceded just 21 runs and took the wicket. Mayank had created waves during IPL 2024, where he regularly bowled 150 kmph for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). However, a side strain kept him out of last season.
He underwent a long recovery process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) under the supervision of BCCI’s medical team and made his long-awaited return to competitive cricket for the first time in Gwalior five months later.
