‘Mayank Yadav fulfilled the criteria he was picked for in debut at Gwalior’, says RP Singh

New Delhi: After Mayank Yadav took 1-21 on his T20I debut at Gwalior, former India left-arm pacer R.P. Singh believes the tearaway pacer fulfilled the factors for which he became selected in the series against Bangladesh and hopes to witness more impactful performances from him.

Definitely one of the foremost attractions in India’s ongoing T20I series against Bangladesh became how Mayank would fare. In IPL 2024, Mayank left a long-lasting impression on every person by going for speeds above 150kmph, while showing flawless precision in his lines and lengths.

He won the Player-of-the-Match award in his first two games for Lucknow Super Giants, but an abdominal strain soon sidelined him. Mayank then frolicked at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to get well and became match-fit by bowling eight to ten overs daily.

At some stage in his debut against Bangladesh in Gwalior, he bowled a maiden over and claimed his first international wicket in Mahmudullah. Wednesday’s 2d T20I between India and Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi will mark the grand homecoming of Mayank, a made out of the iconic Sonnet Club.

“When Mayank bowled a maiden in his first over of international cricket, it showed he had an idea about his accuracy, which he monitored well, and the way important it became along with %. Within the first match, there are a lot butterflies, ifs, and buts, questions in the mind of a debutant.”

“So, I didn’t are expecting that he would have an extraordinarily high performance. The aim for which he became picked for this series, he ticked off that criteria. He first bowled with % and then showed some accuracy in the first match. But there remains to be a lot to be improved upon, close to performances and creating quite a few impact. Overall, his first match performance became decent, in step with me,” said Singh, an authority with JioCinema & Sports18, to IANS in a virtual interaction.

The provision of Mohammed Shami for the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy remains to be uncertain, and Singh is of the opinion that Akash Deep may maybe be the following hottest fast-bowling option for India, while also citing Mayank’s gain more experience in playing red-ball cricket domestically.

“Aakash Deep is a more in-depth choice for the Test series in Australia. His bowling style suits him better for the seam-up deliveries in Australia. Mayank has %, and one aspect of % bowling is that it truly is going to be fast. There are a lot variations and talents that he must develop slowly.”

“In an instant, Mayank is in the developing phase. There's quite a few bowling load in a Test match. Plus, there's a need for quite a few skills and persistence in playing the longer format. But for that, there remains to be time. There's still time for him to play domestic cricket, which Aakash Deep and Mohammad Shami have played a lot.”

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh’s performance, where he took Three-14 and struck twice in Power-play, helped India secure a seven-wicket victory in Gwalior. Singh believes it truly is going to take more time for Arshdeep to play Test cricket someday, citing his skills being more proficient in white-ball games.

“I still feel that there may not be any longer a lot difference in the areas of red-ball and white-ball bowling in the death overs. If the variety of variations increases in white-ball cricket, then your persistence increases in red-ball cricket. Arshdeep has the skill and can move the ball both ways. He has variations which may maybe be more suitable for a shorter white-ball format. I may be able to appear a bit more time to be taken in him playing Test cricket.”

“It truly is some distance no longer that he has any shortcomings. His % is nice, he has variations, and his lengths are good. But despite that, the feeling that he gives is that he is an effective bowler for white-ball games. He is a left-arm pacer and gets wickets all of the time. So I feel that his focal point should be on white-ball cricket for a year and a 0.5 of, and after that, Arshdeep may play Test cricket.”

The absence of Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Jasprit Bumrah from the T20I series means the Suryakumar Yadav-led side has quite a few fresh faces.

Additionally, an incredible variety of those young players offer all-round skills, which Singh thinks is a conscious strategy by the Indian team to set up an even bigger pool of candidates for defending the T20 World Cup title on home turf in 2026.

“The aspect of developing a pool of players with an eye for the 2026 T20 World Cup title defence may maybe be very a lot visible here. With head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav at the helm, you can in general in truth see they're forming a bench of players, who did well in the IPL and had impactful performances in the domestic circuit.”

“After you see players like Riyan Parag and Abhishek Sharma there, one gets to clutch that they're creating players to fill the gaps and make certain that a smooth transition in the shortest format after the senior players have left. I in general have self belief they're on the best track to arrive it.”

“I in truth have self belief that the captain, coaches and selectors have made a four-year plan of drafting more all-rounders into the Indian team in the shortest format. Like, impact player rule exists best in the IPL, while there may not be any such ruling in international cricket.”

“Whereas in international cricket, the Indian team needs a lot of all-round options. More all-rounders in the Indian set-up means the team balance becomes better and the hassle for making that happen goes well in the interim,” signed off Singh.