IPL 2020 | Lucky to share dressing room with Steve Smith and Ben Stokes, says Mayank Markande
Mayank Markande, who will represent Rajasthan Royals in the forthcoming IPL season, has expressed his excitement over sharing the dressing room with superstars Steve Smith and Ben Stokes. Markande shot to fame with his exploits for Mumbai Indians but was later traded from the franchise.
With India set to host the 2021 T20 World Cup and 2023 World Cup, spinners will continuously be in spotlight and selectors will have a keen eye on how the slower bowlers are performing in domestic leagues and, above all, the IPL - a tournament which has an illustrious history of fast-tracking selections of many players in the Indian side. Mayank Markande, who debuted for India last year in T20 internationals, and is on a comeback trail, will be one of them and is set to be closely followed by the men who matter.
The young leg-spinner will be representing Rajasthan after he became the first player to be traded twice in the Indian Premier League (IPL) transfer window. Notably, he was first traded from Mumbai Indians to Delhi Capitals and from there to Rajasthan Royals. The 22-year-old first hogged the limelight after he had a terrific debut season for Mumbai Indians in 2018 IPL, where he took 15 wickets in 14 games with an economy of 8.36.
The stint with Mumbai Indians helped Mayank a lot but he is now buoyant to represent RR and is looking forward to rubbing shoulders with Smith and Stokes.
“The stint with Mumbai Indians helped me a lot and I will always be grateful for it. But my loyalty is now with the Royals and I can’t wait to get started. I will work on my mental strength. I am lucky that I will share the dressing room with Steve Smith and Ben Stokes, and learn from them how to approach the game when the going gets tough," Markande was quoted as saying by TOI.
Wrist-spinners have been very successful in T20 cricket, but it isn't only because of the variations that they possess; it is also the courage with which they keep going for wickets, irrespective of every other obstacle. Markande talked about how a leggie needs to keep attacking, no matter what.
“A leg spinner’s job is to take wickets, be it in the powerplays, or middle or slog overs. Sometimes, batsmen take you to the cleaners but a leggie must keep attacking and getting people out,” said the Punjab-born spinner.
Markande ended up with figures of 4-0-31-0 in his debut T20I against Australia in 2019, after which he was dropped from the side. He then played a few games for Mumbai in the subsequent IPL but unfortunately got injured and the injury paved way for another leggie, Rahul Chahar, who grabbed the opportunity with both his hands and scalped 13 wickets in as many games, with an economy of 6.55.
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