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.