IND vs BAN 1st T20I: Mayank Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy earn their maiden India caps

Tearaway fast bowler Mayank Yadav and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy earned their maiden India caps during the first of the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh played at Gwalior on Sunday.

Yadav, Reddy and Harshit Rana were included in the Indian squad for the series against Bangladesh following successful outings in IPL 2024 earlier this year.

Yadav, who plays for Lucknow Super Giants, made an instant impact in the IPL with his breathtaking pace. The 22-year-old consistently clocked over 150kmph on his IPL debut against Punjab Kings in which he bowled a match-winning spell of 3/27. The towering pacer backed his performance against PBKS with another thunderous spell this time against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Against RCB, Yadav bowled a spell of 3/14 and walked away with another Player of the Match award. Yadav’s sheer pace made him an overnight sensation among fans and experts, who demanded him to be fasttracked into the Indian squad. Yadav’s debut IPL season was cut-short with a back injury. Only after he was declared fit after recovering at National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, Yadav was included in India’s squad.

Reddy, who plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad, won the Emerging Player of the Season award for his all-round skills. The 21-year-old scored 303 runs and picked 3 wickets. Reddy also proved that he is a worthy fielder.

Rana was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad that lifted the coveted IPL trophy this year. The fast-bowler was the team’s second-most successful bowler with 19 wickets behind mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy.

The three-match series against Bangladesh will be the last opportunity for the three youngsters to convince their respective IPL teams to retain them ahead the IPL 2025 mega auction that is expected to happen some time in November. The deadline to submit the list of the retained players is October 31.