Why India's 156.7 Kmph Pacer Mayank Shouldn't Be Picked For T20 WC

Nearly one-third of the Indian Premier League 2024 season is done and dusted and like always, the competition has already unearthed some gems from the domestic circuit. Apart from the batting pyrotechnics by Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, India has also discovered a bowler with raw pace in Mayank Yadav, who has grabbed eyeballs in IPL 2024 having consistently clocked deliveries over 150 kmph. He also bowled the fastest ball of the season at 156.7 kmph.

The 21-year-old pacer from Delhi won two Player of the Match awards in his first two games for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), with most of his deliveries clocking north of 150 kmph.

As a result, Mayank has put his name in the reckoning for India's 2024 T20 World Cup squad after his match-winning three-fers against Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

However, the pacer is currently injured and will miss at least LSG's next two fixtures due to soreness in his lower abdominal area. "He felt a little bit of tightness at the top of his hip leading into the last game, but that was about a one-out-of-ten pain, and we thought that there were clinical signs," LSG head coach Justin Langer said in a press conference on April 11.

One must note that the T20 World Cup 2024 is just around the corner and India is yet to announce its 15-member squad for the marquee ICC event which is scheduled to be held in West Indies and the USA in June.

With Mohammed Shami out of contention due to injury and a few other experienced fast bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj and Harshal Patel yet to make a mark in this year's IPL, the question on everyone's mind is whether Mayank Yadav deserves a place in India's squad for the T20 World Cup.

While Mayank has captured the collective imagination of the cricketing fraternity in the country with his express pace, whether the pacer deserves to be picked for the T20 World Cup is still up for debate.

With that in mind, let's take a look at if Mayank Yadav does indeed deserve a place in India's squad for the T20 WC 2024.

Who is Mayank Yadav?

Mayank, who represents Delhi in the domestic circuit, caught the attention of former Indian player Vijay Dahiya during a Vijay Hazare Trophy game. Given this happened just before the IPL mega auction 2022, the youngster was snapped up by LSG with Dahiya being their assistant coach at the time.

He did not play a match in the first season and was ruled out of the next campaign with a torn hamstring. However, Mayank performed well for Delhi and North Zone in the white ball format in domestic cricket.

He picked up five wickets in four games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023-24 for Delhi and also returned with six wickets in five matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Picked in the North Zone squad, Mayank was one of the best performers in the 2023 Deodhar Trophy. He ended up with 12 wickets in five matches at an average of 17.58.

Surprisingly though, Mayank has played only one first-class game in his young career. His Ranji Trophy debut came against Maharashtra, where he scalped two wickets.

Fast track two years after initially being bought by LSG and Mayank impressed one and all straightaway on his IPL debut against PBKS as he bagged a Player of the Match award following an impressive spell of 3 for 27 which helped Lucknow win a crucial home fixture.

That said, he probably still hasn't done enough to bag a spot in India's T20 World Cup squad as a fast bowler, which has been an area where the Men in Blue have fallen short in past ICC tournaments over the last decade.

Why Mayank Yadav should not be picked for T20 World Cup

It's common knowledge by now that India has not won an ICC trophy since the Champions Trophy 2013 and their bowling attack has not helped the team's cause in ending the trophy drought on the global stage.

India has been one of the strongest national sides since their memorable ODI World Cup victory in 2011. After that tournament win at home, India has participated in five T20 World Cups and their record in those ICC events doesn't make for kind reading.

India's performance in T20 WCs since 2011

2012 in Sri Lanka - Super Eight stage
2014 in Bangladesh - Runners-up
2016 in India - Semi-finals
2021 in the UAE - Group stage
2022 in Australia - Semi-finals

Surprisingly, India lost all three of their T20 World Cup knockout matches since then by failing to defend targets - in 2014 (lost to Sri Lanka in the Final by 6 wickets), in 2016 (lost to West Indies in the semi-final by 7 wickets), and in 2022 (lost to England in the semi-final by 10 wickets).

Furthermore, India's only loss against Pakistan came in a T20 World Cup game in 2021 when the Men in Blue failed to defend a 152-run target and suffered a 10-wicket defeat as experienced bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar struggled to thwart the Pakistani batters.

It is hence safe to say that even experienced Indian bowlers have struggled to produce their best in crunch situations in ICC tournaments over the years. Add to that, Mayank's inexperience even in India's domestic circuit and one can imagine why picking the 21-year-old speedster comes with huge risks.

Additionally, past experiences of fast-tracking speedsters like Umran Malik to the senior Indian squad on the back of strong IPL performances haven't always worked out.

Like Mayank, Umran Malik was the talk of the town thanks to solid IPL performances but upon being selected for the national team, the Jammu & Kashmir pacer failed to live up to his billing and was last seen in action on the international stage in July last year.

The fact that there are only limited pace bowling slots to fill doesn't help Mayank Yadav's case for inclusion in the T20 WC 2024 squad either since it could prove costly for India, considering his lack of experience in domestic and international cricket.

India's think tank also has proven talents in the T20 stage in Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and Deepak Chahar, to name a few. And while a raw talent like Mayank Yadav is bound to don national colours soon, perhaps adding him to the 2024 T20 squad on the back of a handful of good performances is a step too far in his still nascent career.