Former Australian gun fast bowler Brett Lee has urged the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel to pick Mayank Yadav for the Border-Gavaskar trophy against Australia if Mohammed Shami is unfit. Yadav made an impressive debut in the T20I series against Bangladesh after impressing one and all in IPL 2024 for Lucknow Super Giants.

The youngster picked four wickets in three matches at an average of 20.75. But Yadav has played only one first-class match for Delhi in which he has picked two wickets and thus lacks experience with the red ball.

However, Yadav has been the cynosure of all eyes since he has the extra pace in his arsenal. The right-arm pacer can hurry the batters as he can consistently bowl at more than 145 kmph.

Brett Lee said on Fox Sports’ Follow on podcast, “They put him (Mayank) in cotton wool for a bit. The great thing about India is that they are not worried about how much cricket someone has played or hasn’t played, if he is ready to go, get him in there. I love that theory. I can tell you that batters are okay when you bowl that 135-140 kmph speed, but when you bowl high 150s, I don’t care who it is, no one wants to face that.”

“He looks like someone who is the complete package, if Mohammed Shami is not ready, at least get him in the squad. I think he would do pretty well on these Australian wickets,” he added.

Meanwhile, India has won the previous two Test series against Australia while playing away. Lee noted that India knows how to get the positive results.

“This day and age, India is a powerhouse that don’t want to bow down. They know how to win, and they know they can beat Australia; they know they can beat the Kiwis. They know they can beat anyone on any given day.”

The opening Test match between India and Australia will be played at Perth from November 22 onwards.