Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody feels Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)’s new find Mayank Yadav is ‘definitely in conversation’ to feature in India’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be held in West Indies and USA in June. Mayank has been a revelation in the IPL 2024 edition after only two games. He made his debut in Lucknow’s home game versus Punjab Kings (PBKS), on March 30, and made an impact with his searing pace and accuracy to finish with 3 for 27, also clocking 155.8kph — the fastest delivery of the season.
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On Tuesday (April 2), LSG faced Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where Mayank’s 3 for 14 dented Virat Kohli-starrer’s 182-run chase as they were bundled out for 153 in 19.4 overs. Mayank won the Player-of-the-Match award on debut and also versus RCB, becoming the first-ever to win this award in his first two IPL games. With a rapid rise since his IPL debut, many are already backing him to feature in India’s T20 WC squad. In this regard, former Australian cricketer-turned-commentator Tom Moody feels the 21-year-old is ‘definitely in the conversation’.
Talking on ESPNcricinfo’s show T20 Time Out Live, Moody said, “He is definitely in the conversation. Whether you take that risk punting on him or not is another conversation because you also need to consider what skillset you need in that reserve fast bowler – is it someone who is a powerplay bowler, or someone who has the ability to bowl at the death, all those subtle skillsets are important when you are talking about a T20 World Cup.”
‘Long shot but you wouldn’t say never’
Mitchell McClenaghan — Moody’s co-panellist — also shared his take and opined, “If his form continues throughout this tournament, the World Cup starts six days after the IPL, I think it would be crazy not to look at the players who are in form going into that tournament. He may not have the caps behind him, but if he continues this vein of form and can keep his pace up throughout the whole tournament and keep winning games – he has won two games in a row, his first two games – then you are right in the mix. Long shot but you wouldn’t say never.”
The fourth-positioned Lucknow will now face Gujarat Titans (GT) in their next outing, i.e. match 21 on Sunday (April 7), at home.
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