Australian batter Steve Smith revealed a plan to tackle India’s bowling sensation Mayank Yadav after the 21-year-old announced himself to the world during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Yadav, who made his IPL debut against Punjab Kings, was the Player of the Match in both matches he has played so far as the 21-year-old continues to shine for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
"If you look at all those balls, there wasn't one slower ball there, so you don't have to worry about that at this stage. He might have it in his armoury, we haven't seen it yet but you can probably trust to get inside the line or maybe give a bit of room and use the pace and let it come to you," Smith told Star Sports
"The thing that impressed me is that he's played his debut game the other day obviously, There'll be a lot of hype around him and you see a lot of players have that one good game and then just can't back it up," he added.
Yadav bowled the fastest ball in this year’s IPL clocking at 156.7 kph as he dismantled Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Australian duo of Glenn Maxwell and Cameroon Green during their 182-run chase.
"He's come straight back in, bowled like an absolute genius, got out Glenn Maxwell one of the best T20 batters in the world, Cameron Green, an international player who plays fast bowling really well and Patidar as well. So three quality players. So Mayank Yadav, remember the name," he asserted
"I don't think he bowled a slower ball. They should be using the pace as much as he can to score behind the wicket and make him do something different. He's bowling quick and if you get some bat on it particularly in the Chinnaswamy the ball races away. So try and use his pace a little bit more instead of finding it. Teams are finding it at the moment and they are coming well short," he added.