Mayank Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy pose after receiving their maiden India caps ahead of the first T20I against Bangladesh in Gwalior. (BCCI on X)
India handed debuts to Mayank Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy for the first T20I against Bangladesh on Sunday in Gwalior.
While the 22-year-old pace sensation, Mayank was handed his maiden India cap by former India spinner Murali Karthik, Nitish received his first cap from Parthiv Patel.
The duo was spotted ahead of the toss, marking their run-up, with the bowling coach Morne Morkel assisting Mayank with a measuring tape at the new Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior.
Mayank made headlines in Indian cricket during this year’s Indian Premier League season. Despite making only four appearances in the recent season, Mayank grabbed the attention of the cricketing fraternity with his raw pace. His seven wickets included smarting the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Glenn Maxwell.
“India has just found its fastest bowler … very impressive,” former Australia pacer Brett Lee praised the Delhi-born pacer in his first IPL season. Lee even criticised the Lucknow Super Giants management for poorly managing Mayank’s back injury, and suggesting that had he not been injured, he would have made the cut for India’s T20 World Cup squad.
21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy was the IPL 2024 Emerging Player of the Season. The seam-bowling all-rounder played a pivotal role in Sunrisers Hyderabad reaching the final.
In 13 appearances across the season, Nitish scored 303 runs and also snapped three wickets.
India’s playing XI vs Bangladesh, 1st T20: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Nitish Reddy, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav
