Leg and off: Should India fast-track Mayank Yadav into the national squad?

The IPL, over the years, has been renowned for the quality of batting on display and the outrageous strokes some of the batters attempt. Every once in a while, though, someone comes along, arguing the bowlers' case and showing that T20 cricket, or indeed the IPL is not all crash, bang, wallop.

Sometimes, it is a mystery spinner who keeps batters guessing with his variations. At other times, it is a pacer who has an undecipherable cutter or slower ball. But on occasions, it is a fast bowler, who, as the name suggests, bowls fast. Proper pace that rattles batters, makes them sniff the leather and perhaps even makes them question what they are doing out there facing 150kph thunderbolts.

Mayank Yadav, this season, has been that guy.

Those following domestic cricket, in the past couple of years, have heard his name in some capacity. Back in 2022, when the Lucknow Super Giants picked him up at the auction, he had only played a couple of List A matches. He did not feature in that campaign but was touted to be a part of their bowling attack in 2023, only for injury to rule him out completely.

He has had his run-ins with injuries, having also missed the recently concluded edition of the Ranji Trophy. LSG, though, gambled on what he would bring to the table when fit, and the entire cricketing fraternity is now seeing just why the franchise was willing to wait on him.

Such performances, apart from casting Mayank into the limelight, have also thrown open another debate. Of whether he should be fast-tracked into the Indian squad. With an average of less than 13 and an economy rate of less than 6.5 across 12 T20s, some would say it is warranted.

One key pointer in these numbers, though, is how many games Mayank has played. 12 T20s, of course, does not seem a lot, given so many other Indian cricketers have had to wait an eternity for their national gig.

There is an injury cloud over him too, which is proven by him missing IPL 2023 and this season of the Ranji Trophy. At just 21 years of age, the last thing India would want is to rush Mayank too quickly into the fold, and then see his body not handle the workload, withering away another possibly generational talent.

As far as the cons of his national call-up are concerned, that is about it, though. And that, in a nutshell, explains why the pacer, despite being all of 12 T20s old, perhaps deserves to be fast-tracked into the Indian setup.

First things first, bowling fast is not easy, and it does come with its fair share of injuries. Anrich Nortje, one of the quickest bowlers in the world, has spent a lot of time on the sidelines, as has Mark Wood, another extremely rapid bowler. Even the great Shoaib Akhtar had injury issues.

This then is a direct correlation of putting your body through that grind. And because the body is not naturally built to keep hurling the ball at 150kph, and to repeat that process every few seconds.

So, being injury-prone should not really count against Mayank, especially at this stage of his career when his body and his muscles are still developing and getting stronger.

The next aspect to look at when viewing a tearaway quick is how accurate he can be because everyone anyway knows how quick they are. Mayank, so far, has passed that test too.

Mayank Yadav's pace blew away RCB

In the two games he has played, he has not given away many freebies. Usually, when bowling at such speed, width and balls on the pads are punished, due to the high pace on offer. Against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Mayank probably bowled just one loose half-volley on the pads - to Rajat Patidar, who dispatched it past mid-wicket for four.

Apart from that, everything was in the channel, forcing batters to play at it. Because of how brisk it was, their footwork got muddled and that opened up more wicket-taking chances for Mayank.

The perfect example of this was Cameron Green's dismissal. A ball after he had hacked Mayank over mid-on, he was unsure of where the next ball would pitch. Because of the extra pace, he decided to bet on it being short again. When Mayank pitched it up fuller, Green was caught on the crease, with his bat, pad, and the ball all moving in different planes.

Green, for context, bats at No.4 in Test cricket for Australia. So, if he is getting rushed, both in his footwork and thinking, there should be something special about the bowler.

Moments before that, Mayank had blasted out Glenn Maxwell. Maxwell, thinking he could dominate and swat him in front of square, was late on the stroke and ended up splicing it straight to mid-on. The pace, of course, made a difference, but it was the accuracy that really led to Maxwell's downfall.

RCB captain Faf du Plessis said as much in his post-match chat. He conceded that the pace Mayank was generating was something to get behind, but that he was more impressed by the control he showed. The lines he bowled, the lengths he hit, and the way he was at the batter at all times.

LSG captain KL Rahul said something similar at the toss, wherein he praised the youngster's temperament. And that is what has set Mayank apart so far. The temperament. The ability to stay cool under pressure and have total clarity on what to bowl and when to bowl it.

In whatever he has shown so far, he also seems to have a very snappy wrist, which explains some of the wrist he generates. Due to this, his short balls, despite not really being short enough per se, climb onto the batters and give them less time to react. His height helps too.

Bowling quick, especially from an Indian perspective, has not been a fashionable fad over the years. Several have burst onto the scene, only to lose pace, not retain the USP that originally got them there, and spray the ball around.

That caveat, thus, will always remain, whether the bowler in question is Mayank or someone like Umran Malik, who made jaws drop similarly during a breakout IPL 2022 campaign.

There is significant time, though, to draw those conclusions. Unless someone like Mayank is thrown into the deep end, India will never know what he is capable of on the international stage and if he really belongs.

There is a chance of failure, agreed. But what if it does indeed work out? What if India suddenly get a bowler to partner Jasprit Bumrah who bowls at more than 150 clicks, and still manages to execute the plans founded upon accuracy? Seems pretty enticing, doesn't it?

That is the gamble LSG took back in 2022, and stuck by it even when Mayank did not bowl a ball in anger last season. They are now reaping the rewards.

Maybe, India can do something similar too.