RP Singh Says 'Mayank Yadav Fulfilled the Criteria He was Picked for in Debut at Gwalior'

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 criteria for which he was selected in the series against Bangladesh and hopes to witness more impactful performances from him.

One of the main attractions in India’s ongoing T20I series against Bangladesh was how Mayank would fare. In IPL 2024, Mayank left a lasting impression on everyone 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 spent time at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to recover and become match-fit by bowling eight to ten overs every day.

During his debut against Bangladesh in Gwalior, he bowled a maiden over and claimed his first international wicket in Mahmudullah. Wednesday’s second T20I between India and Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi will mark the grand homecoming of Mayank, a product 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 how important it was along with pace. In the first match, there are a lot of butterflies, ifs, and buts, questions in the mind of a debutant.”

“So, I didn’t expect that he would have a very high performance. The purpose for which he was picked for this series, he ticked off that criteria. He first bowled with pace and then showed some accuracy in the first match. But there is still a lot to be improved upon, in terms of performances and creating a lot of impact. Overall, his first match performance was decent, according to me,” said Singh, an expert with JioCinema & Sports18, to IANS in a virtual interaction.

The availability of Mohammed Shami for the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy is still uncertain, and Singh is of the opinion that Akash Deep will be the next preferred fast-bowling option for India, while also citing Mayank’s need to gain more experience in playing red-ball cricket domestically.

“Aakash Deep is a better choice for the Test series in Australia. His bowling style suits him better for the seam-up deliveries in Australia. Mayank has pace, and one aspect of pace bowling is that it should be fast. There are many variations and skills that he needs to develop slowly.”

“Right now, Mayank is in the developing phase. There is a lot of bowling load in a Test match. Plus, there is a need for a lot of skills and patience in playing the longer format. But for that, there is still time. There is 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 3-14 and struck twice in Power-play, helped India secure a seven-wicket victory in Gwalior. Singh believes it will take more time for Arshdeep to play Test cricket in the future, citing his skills being more proficient in white-ball games.

“I still feel that there is not much difference in the areas of red-ball and white-ball bowling in the death overs. If the number of variations increases in white-ball cricket, then your patience increases in red-ball cricket. Arshdeep has the skill and can move the ball both ways. He has variations that are more suitable for a shorter white-ball format. I can see a little more time to be taken in him playing Test cricket.”

“It is not that he has any shortcomings. His pace is good, he has variations, and his lengths are good. But despite that, the feeling that he gives is that he is an ideal bowler for white-ball games. He is a left-arm pacer and gets wickets all the time. So I feel that his focus should be on white-ball cricket for a year and a half, 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 a lot of fresh faces.

Additionally, a significant number of these young players offer all-round skills, which Singh thinks is a conscious strategy by the Indian team to establish a larger 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 is very much visible here. With head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav at the helm, one can really see they are forming a bench of players, who did well in the IPL and had impactful performances in the domestic circuit.”

“When you see players like Riyan Parag and Abhishek Sharma there, one gets to understand that they are creating players to fill the gaps and ensure a smooth transition in the shortest format after the senior players have left. I believe they are on the right track to achieve it.”

“I really believe that the captain, coaches and selectors must have made a four-year plan of drafting more all-rounders into the Indian team in the shortest format. Like, impact player rule exists only in the IPL, while there is no such ruling in international cricket.”

“Whereas in international cricket, the Indian team needs tons of all-round options. More all-rounders in the Indian set-up means the team balance becomes better and the effort for making that happen is going well at the moment,” signed off Singh.