Mayank Yadav, Ashok Sharma good additions to India’s fast-bowling pool: Sunil Joshi
India’s stand-in bowling coach Sunil Joshi has backed Mayank Yadav and Ashok Sharma as valuable additions to the country’s growing fast bowling reserves, saying the emergence of quality pacers will help the national team cope with the demands of a busy international calendar.
Speaking ahead of the second T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare, Joshi praised both the young pacers after their encouraging performances in the series opener. He serves as India’s bowling coach for the three-match series in the absence of regular bowling coach Morne Morkel.
“It’s very pleasing because he (Mayank) came back very strong (from injury). His rhythm was very good. Ashok…we saw how effective he is in Sri Lanka (during the India A tour),” Joshi said at the pre-match press conference.
“He got an opportunity to do it. It’s a good thing for Indian fast bowling that we have so many fast bowlers. We just have to prepare them because opportunities can come anytime,” he added.
BUILDING HEAT DEPTH
India’s pace attack has largely revolved around established names like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in recent years. With both the senior pacers operating in all three formats, workload management has become increasingly important, making developing a deeper pool of quicks a priority for the team management.
This is where the emergence of Mayank and Ashok comes as a significant boost. Both have impressed in different settings before earning opportunities for the senior side, giving India more options as they continue to rotate their pace sources across formats.
Ashok made his debut in India in the opening T20I series in Harare after an impressive breakthrough season with Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League. The express pacer grabbed attention for his ability to constantly harass the batsmen with his raw pace, including delivering one of the fastest balls of the tournament during Gujarat’s clash with Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
MAYANK’S STRONG COMEBACK
Mayank’s comeback was equally encouraging. The speedster donned Indian colors once again after a frustrating run of nearly two years injuries that limited his appearances in the last two seasons of the IPL.
While his pace remains his biggest weapon, Mayank has also shown encouraging signs of growth as a bowler. He showed better awareness of the game, adapting his lengths and plans to the conditions and the opponent, rather than relying solely on speed.
These improvements were seen in the first T20I against Zimbabwe. Mayank struck early with the new ball to remove the top order and put India in complete control of the match in the Powerplay.
Ashok, meanwhile, has grown into the innings after a bit of an expensive start. Despite conceding a couple of boundaries during the over and later at the death, the youngster impressed with his control in the middle overs, consistently hitting hard lengths and asking questions of the Zimbabwean batsmen with his pace.
EYES ON SERIOUS CLINCHER
With India leading the three-match series, both the young quicks will be looking to build on their promising starts when the teams meet again in the second T20I.
Another strong performance from Mayank and Ashok would not only help India seal the series in Harare but also strengthen their own cases as long-term options in India’s fast bowling setup. This is perhaps the biggest positive for the team management as more and more exciting pacers are ready to step in whenever the opportunity arises.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
24 Jul 2026 20:01 IST