The young Indian leg-spinner, Mayank Markande is one of the perfect testimonies of the fact that hard work has no substitute. After giving some impressive bowling performances for Mumbai Indians in the last edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), Markande continued to working hard and made a name for himself in the domestic circuit. It eventually helped him to earn his maiden international call-up.
During the first T20 international between India and Australia at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, Markande became the 79th cricketer to represent India in the shortest format of the game.
WATCH – The Indian Team Pays Tribute To Martyrs Of Pulwama
In domestic cricket so far, Mayank has scalped 34 wickets at an impressive average of 21.26 in just 7 first-class matches. He has picked up three five-wicket hauls. In 22 List A matches, he has scalped 45 wickets against his name at an astounding average of 19.97 with two four-wicket hauls.
Here is the video of his receiving his maiden T20I cap:
Mayank Markande all set to make his T20I debut for #TeamIndia 😎😎#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/Ogv0V1iHzO
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2019
Talking about his selection, Markande said, “It’s a dream come true, I had never thought I will get an opportunity to play for India so soon. It’s a very big thing and I am extremely happy. Credit goes to the team management, Rohit bhaiyya had told me that I was bowling well and should be prepared to play. Rahul Sanghvi sir helped me a lot in the nets. Even Rohit bhaiya said to not hesitate and ask him about anything, he encouraged me a lot.”
WATCH – Rishabh Pant Loses His Wicket In An Unfortunate Way
The Australian skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to field against India in the first T20 International match at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy stadium in Visakhapatnam. During the toss, the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli said that KL Rahul has made a come back into the playing XI while Shikhar Dhawan has been rested. The fiery pacer Umesh Yadav replaced Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Vijay Shankar made way for debutant Markande.
Before the start of the game, Both the Indian cricket team and the visitors Australia paid tribute to the martyrs of the cowardly terrorist attack in Pulwama attack by maintaining two minutes of silence at the start of the game. Virat Kohli and his men were also seen wearing a black band on their arm in their honor.
