cricket

Updated: Feb 24, 2019 18:33 IST

Mayank Markande will be making his debut for the Indian cricket team as he was handed the cap by the team seniors ahead of the first T20I encounter against Australia in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

With Kuldeep Yadav not playing in the series, Markande became the latest wrist spinner to make his way into the side and it looks like he will be partnering Yuzvendra Chahal.

Markande became a household name thanks to his performances for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last season. The Punjab spinner claimed 15 wickets in 14 matches and was subsequently retained by the franchise for the upcoming season.

FOLLOW: India vs Australia, 1st T20I at Visakhapatnam, Live score and updates

Earlier, chief selector MSK Prasad said that Markande will be used as a back-up spinner to the regular bowlers Yuzvendra Chahal and all-rounder Krunal Pandya.

Markande was overwhelmed when he came to know about his selection and said that it was the ‘biggest achievement’ of his career.

Mayank Markande all set to make his T20I debut for #TeamIndia 😎😎#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/Ogv0V1iHzO — BCCI (@BCCI) February 24, 2019

“Get a national call-up is the biggest achievement in a player’s career. To be honest I was not expecting this. I did not think I would get included the national set-up this early. I consider myself really lucky,” Markande was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

“My performances in the Ranji Trophy along with meaningful performances for India A must have been noticed by the selectors and I am really happy that they have given me a chance to prove myself,” he added.