National selection committee chairman MSK Prasad on Friday termed mystery spinner Mayank Markande as a player who had been performing well consistently, and was being considered for the role of a backup spinner.
The 21-year-old spinner was handed a maiden international call up for the home series against Australia, after being included in the Indian T20I side. The two-match T20I series is set to commence from February 24.
India’s squad for T20I series against Australia: Virat (Capt), Rohit (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Sidharth Kaul, Mayank Markande #INDvAUS
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 15, 2019
Markande made his presence felt on Friday, picking five wickets in the second innings of the second Test against England Lions. His performance helped the India ‘A’ register victory by an innings and 68 runs, with the visitors bowled out for 180.
“We are looking at him as a backup spinner, and we have been grooming him through the India A process,” said Prasad.
“Markande also picked a five-wicket haul today and has been performing well for sometime. We want to take a look at him and he will be the backup spinner during the series,” he added.
Source: Zee News