India vs Australia 2019: 3 reasons why Mayank Markande was included in the T20I squad
The Indian selectors announced the squads for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Australia today. There were a lot of surprises in the T20I squad as young pacer Siddarth Kaul was called back after a long time while rookie leg spinner Mayank Markande received his first ever national call-up.
The Indian squad for the T20I series against Australia is as follows -
Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Siddarth Kaul, Mayank Markande
The T20I series has only two T20Is, so it will be interesting to see whether Markande gets his India cap or not. However, here are the 3 possible reasons why he was surprisingly included in the:
#3 Markande's stupendous performances for Mumbai Indians and India 'A'
Markande burst into the spotlight with his marvelous performances in the initial stages of the Indian Premier League last year. The young leg-spinner stunned the cricket fans and pundits with his mesmerizing leg-spin performances against Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
A superb showing in the IPL led to Markande being selected in the India 'A' team for the series against England Lions. And today, the 21-year-old's five wicket-haul helped the India 'A' team win the match by an innings against the England Lions.
Moreover, he was the leading wicket-taker for Punjab in his debut Ranji Trophy season in 2018-19.
Undoubtedly, the Indian selectors were impressed by this Punjabi leg-spinner's performances and thus, rewarded him with his first ever call-up to the national squad. It will be intriguing to see how he performs at the international level.