India captain Rohit Sharma on Tuesday has hinted on the prospects of pace sensation Mayank Yadav and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy in the Test side.
Speaking ahead of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, Rohit said, “I understand they have not played that much. We want to create bench strength. If we want to fast track someone, we want to fast track them.
“If someone gets injured we want them to step in. Nice to have them around, have a chat and see how they see test cricket. Its important to try and build them gradually. Trying to monitor them and what they can offer,” he added.
Both Mayank and Nitish were part of India’s T20I squad in the recently concluded three-match series against Bangladesh. While Nitish impressed with 74 runs off 34 deliveries in the second T20I, Mayank was also impressive with the ball and struck four times in three games at an economy of just under seven.
The duo have been added among the travelling reserves for the upcoming three-match Test series alongside Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana.
It was in this year’s IPL that Nitish and Mayank made the headlines as two of the household names. Despite making only four appearances in the recent season, Mayank grabbed the attention of the cricketing fraternity with his raw pace. His seven wickets included smarting the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Glenn Maxwell.