Mayank Yadav made a promising T20 debut on Sunday as India defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets in Gwalior to go 1-0 up in the 3-match series. The Delhi pacer, who returned to action right after picking up an injury in the IPL, bowled with rattling pace and returned economical figures to kick off his international career.
Yadav equalled Ajit Agarkar’s 18-year-old record, becoming only second Indian bowler to begin his T20 career with a maiden over. His raw pace made him a stand-out bowler earlier this year in the IPL and implemented the same formula in his maiden outing for India but acted smartly. Instead of focusing on pace, Yadav stuck to the proper line and length that helped him scalp his maiden international wicket.
Speaking on Jio Cinema after India’s clinical win, Yadav revealed he was nervous on the debut as he hadn’t played competitive cricket since getting injured in the IPL.
“I was indeed excited but was a bit more nervous. This series marked my comeback after the injury. I didn’t play competitive cricket and then directly made my debut. That’s why I was a little more nervous,” Yadav told Jio Cinema.
“The recovery period was tough for more. Quite a lot of ups and downs were there in the last 4 months. But more than me, it was tougher for the people who worked with me,” he added.
Yadav didn’t breach the 150kmph mark. The fastest he bowled was 149.9 kph and also varied his pace, bowling as slow as 135. The right-arm fast bowler said there wasn’t much assistance from the wicket so he varied his pace.
“Today I focused more on my body. Also, I was determined to hit the proper lengths instead of bowling faster. I didn’t think about my speed. I just tried leaking the least runs possible and bowling at a proper line and length.
“I did bowl the slower ones in the IPL as well but not much. I had a word with my captain and he asked me to rely on my stalk ball more than trying out variations. But coming to Gwalior, the wicket didn’t have much bounce so I changed my pace accordingly,” he said.
Speaking about instructions given by head coach Gautam Gambhir, Yadav said he was asked to follow the basics and refrain from trying new things.
“Nothing extra, he [Gautam Gambhir] asked me to stick to the basics and do the things that have yielded positive results for me in the past. He asked me not to think much about trying different things or even think that it was an international game. Following the process was the key,” Yadav concluded.
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