Josh Hazlewood
| Photo Credit: Murali Kumar K.

Mayank Yadav who has been on the sidelines since April 30 after suffering an injury during the IPL 2024 will be returning to the Indian squad for the T20Is against Bangladesh.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

India’s fastest bowler Mayank Yadav on Saturday (September 28, 2024) got fast-tracked into the Indian team for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh after completing his near five-month rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy.

The team set to be led by Suryakumar Yadav only has one more senior — former T20I skipper Hardik Pandya — in its ranks as all the recent IPL performers have been selected.

Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who plays for Kolkata Knight Riders, got a recall after three years since his nightmarish T20 World Cup campaign in the UAE in 2021.

Nitish Reddy, the back-up seamer all-rounder after Pandya and Shivam Dube, also got a look-in after he missed out on the recent Zimbabwe tour owing to an injury.

The talented players like Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma, Harshit Rana have all found a place in the 15-man squad that has Jitesh Sharma as the second keeper behind Sanju Samson.

The biggest surprise is certainly the inclusion of Mayank, who consistently bowled mid-150 clicks for Lucknow Super Giants during three of his four IPL matches including back-to-back Player of the Match awards which garnered global attention.

It was during mid-IPL, the 22-year-old Mayank, who hails from Delhi, was ruled out due to lower abdominal strain.

Such has been his talent that he was wrapped in cotton wool with an extensive rehabilitation programme and of late has been bowling 14-15 overs per day at the NCA.

However, it is believed that before being unleashed into red ball format in Ranji Trophy, Bangladesh series is the best opportunity for the national selection committee and head coach Gautam Gambhir to check out how he is coping at the international level with only four overs to bowl.

If his body holds up well, they might slowly draft him into the longer formats as he is considered a prospect who will serve Indian cricket for the longest time.

Chakravarthy, a vital cog in KKR’s victorious IPL campaign under Gambhir’s mentorship, was overlooked as recently as the tour to Zimbabwe and also Sri Lanka despite an impressive 21 wickets from 14 games.

However, it is understood that Gambhir was very keen on having Chakravarthy, who mainly bowls fast leg-breaks along with a deceptive wrong ‘un.

India will play three T20Is in Gwalior (October 6), New Delhi (October 9) and Hyderabad (October 12) against Najmul Hossain Shanto’s Bangladesh.

India squad for the Bangladesh T20Is:

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, JItesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav.

NCA head VVS Laxman-coached Team India left for Zimbabwe on July 2, 2024. Photo: X/@BCCI

A young-Indian cricket team under National Cricket Academy head VVS Laxman left for Zimbabwe to play a five-match T20I series starting in Harare on July 6.

The team will be led by Shubman Gill while the likes of youngsters Riyan Parag and Abhishek Sharma have been rewarded for their exploits in the last IPL with maiden India call-ups.

Skipper Gill, the reserve opener for the T20 World Cup was on a break and will link up with the Zimbabwe-bound squad directly in Harare from the US.

The BCCI took to X to post pictures of those who boarded the flight, which includes Sharma, Parag, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Tushar Deshpande and NCA head Laxman.

Five members of the squad — Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh and Khaleel Ahmed were either part of the T20 World Cup-winning team or were travelling reserves are stranded in Barbados due to hurricane Beryl. They will join the squad later.

With Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retiring form the shortest format of the game, the T20 series against Zimbabwe will provide the youngsters with the perfect opportunity to cement their places in the team for future series.

Sudharsan, Jitesh and Rana added to India’s squad

The trio of Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana was on July 2 named as replacements for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Indian squad for the first two matches of the T20I series against Zimbabwe.

Dube, Samson and Jaiswal, all part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad, were slated to join the Zimbabwe-bound group but are stranded in Barbados due to hurricane Beryl.

The trio is set to fly back home, along with the other players, aboard a charter flight on July 2 evening and arrive in India on Wednesday at 7.45pm (IST). The players will later be felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

The unforseen circumstances has forced BCCI to name replacements for the three players.

Pacer Khaleel Ahmed and batter Rinku Singh, travelling reserves for the T20 World Cup, are also currently in Barbados. The BCCI has not named replacements for the duo even though they are in the squad for Zimbabwe series.

Sudharsan is currently playing county cricket for Surrey at the Oval in London. He is expected to leave for Harare immediately.

India’s updated squad for first two T20Is against Zimbabwe

Shubman Gill (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Harshit Rana.