Mayank Yadav should be on the plane to Australia if Mohammed Shami is not available for selection, asserted Brett Lee, one of the most devastatingly destructive bowlers, who has high hopes from the Indian pace sensation on the true, bouncy wickets Down Under. Aiming to qualify for a third successive World Test Championship (WTC) final, India will be travelling to Australia next month to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and doubts remain over seasoned seamer Shami’s selection in the squad for the five-match Test series. “I can tell you that batters are okay when you bowl that 135-140 kmph speed, but when you bowl high 150s, I don’t care who it is, no one wants to face that.”
“He looks like someone who is a complete package, if Mohammed Shami is not ready, at least get him (Mayank) in the squad. I think he would do pretty well on these Australian wickets,” Lee told Fox Cricket.
Shami has not played since featuring in the final of the ODI World Cup last November, and even though he went full tilt at the nets recently, India skipper Rohit Sharma is averse to taking an “undercooked” version of the seamer to Australia.
Former Aussie pacer Lee knows a thing or two about batters’ discomfort while standing up to express pace.
Lee said, “The great thing is with me that I get to work on the IPL and see a lot of good young Indian cricketers. Mayank Yadav, to watch his first IPL game recently, hit 157 kmph first up in his first game.
“Unfortunately, his franchise probably brought him a little early and he did his side again.
“They put him in cotton wool for a bit. The great thing about India is that they are not worried about how much cricket someone has played or hasn’t played, if he is ready to go, get him in there. I actually love that theory,” Lee added.
India boast of a world-class bowling attack that can trouble the Australian batters in their own den, and Lee acknowledged that.
“Ashwin is approaching 600 wickets, he has got that beautiful shape when he bowls spin. He can bowl with the new ball as well but I think if India have to win there, then Shami (provided he is fit) can definitely hold the key.
“Jasprit Bumrah, we all know how good he is, he can bowl both ways, he is a great exponent of reverse swing. Mohammed Siraj knows how to make the new ball talk.
“On wickets like Perth, Adelaide, for me it’s the combination, these three fast bowlers with Ashwin as the spinner. Then they have got options with guys like who are part-time spinners. But you need to have those three quicks firing if India wants to win,” Lee said.
‘India don’t want to bow down’
Lee described the Indian team as a “powerhouse that don’t want to bow down” to anyone, cautioning his compatriots who will take on the Asian giants from November 22.
Lee’s remarks came after India’s eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the Bengaluru Test earlier this week.
“This day and age, India is a powerhouse that don’t want to bow down. They know how to win, and they know they can beat Australia; they know they can beat the Kiwis. They know they can beat anyone on any given day,” Lee said.
Commenting on India’s outing in the Bengaluru Test against the Kiwis, Lee felt that they might have got influenced by ‘Bazball’, leading to playing some loose shots.
“India just didn’t go into their shell. Maybe it’s Bazball brushing off on other cricketers around the world,” he noted.
“I know that India won’t be proud of the way they played. They played some pretty loose shots.” India’s decision to bat first in overcast conditions raised eyebrows, as the team was bowled out for 46 in the first innings of the opening Test, its lowest Test score at home.
Lee said the side needs to “weigh up the risk factor” and added the Indians should have judged the conditions better.
“But, you’ve got to weigh up the risk factor as well. There are times when you’ve got to go, ‘Okay, well, maybe the big shots aren’t working today’.
“Maybe, just rein it in a little bit. I don’t think they sort of summed up the conditions as quickly as what they should have done,” Lee said.
India play two more Tests against New Zealand — Pune (October 24-28) and Mumbai (November 1-5) — before leaving for Australia.
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