For all the flak and controversies which surround the Indian Premier League, the fact remains that this provided a platform for young talents to come onto the big stage and draw a line in the sand for themselves.
‘Where talent meets opportunity’, the motto of the IPL has times and again been vindicated by plenty of new faces who are rank outsiders at the inception of the league but become household names in a matter of two to three weeks.
Mayank Markande, the young leg-spinner is the hottest property in the country right now and with his guile, craft, and wicket-taking abilities have forced everyone to sit up and take notice.
Two matches, seven wickets and plenty of eye-catching moments, this young man has already been hailed as the find of the season for Mumbai Indians.
While it is just the beginning and we should not jump the gun too fast, but this young spinner has shown tremendous temperament and ability in both the matches and thus, he might well be the x-factor for the defending champions this season.
Here, we take a look at few of the unknown facts about this new wrist spinner in town.
#1 The young man was born in Bathinda, Punjab and spent his childhood in the town
#2 He was only 16 years old when he was in the Punjab U-19 squad. He was also part of the 2010 India U-19 squad
#3 He started his career as a fast bowler but had the ability to bowl a great back of the hand slower delivery which made his coach convince him to be a leg spinner
#4 The 20-year old took 5 wickets in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and 10 wickets in the subsequent Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2017/18
#5 He was picked up by Mumbai Indians for a base price of 20 lakhs
#6 Not allowed to use the phone during the match, Markande received 37 missed calls and 300 messages about his inclusion but believed it only when Rahul Sanghvi (Mumbai Indians manager) called him up to pass on the message
#7 The Punjab-boy had played just 6 List A and 4 domestic T20s before making his IPL debut in 2018 season opener
#8 With three wickets in his debut match, he equaled the feat of Lasith Malinga who also picked up three wickets in the first match for Mumbai Indians
#9 Shane Warne is the young man’s idol and incidentally, Warne is present in the IPL as the mentor of Rajasthan Royals
