Atul Wassan, the former India fast bowler, noted how Indians often tend to get overly enthusiastic when they spot young pacers with speed.
Mayank Yadav, the rising star of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL 2024, made a spectacular entry into the tournament, clinching two Player of the Match awards in his first two games. His standout feature? Bowling consistently at speeds exceeding 150 kph. His fastest delivery of 156.7 kph against Royal Challengers Bengaluru turned quite a few heads.
However, just when the cricket world was buzzing with his potential, Mayank’s third match took a sour turn. After bowling just one over, he had to leave the field due to an injury. Coach Justin Langer later revealed that Mayank Yadav’s MRI reports showed a minor swelling in his abdominal area, possibly sidelining him for the next couple of games under KL Rahul’s leadership.
What started as a celebration of India’s upcoming cricket sensation has now shifted focus to concerns about his fitness. Atul Wassan, a former Indian fast bowler, shared his thoughts on the matter. In an interview, Wassan highlighted the tendency of Indian cricket enthusiasts to hype young talents prematurely. He stressed the importance of physical attributes like height, weight, and overall robustness for a fast bowler’s sustained success.
Wassan drew parallels between Mayank’s situation and the career trajectory of Varun Aaron, emphasizing how premature judgments and sky-high expectations can burden young talents and lead to career setbacks.
“It is the problem with the Indian mindset, whenever a young speedster comes into the picture, they get overexcited and want him to play the events like the World Cup or similar kinds of big events. They become judges just based on two matches. Your height, weight and size play a crucial role as a pacer, you need some hard bones to survive as an out-and-out pacer,” Wassan told ‘Indian Sports Fans’ founder Sunil Yash Kalra in a live TV show on India News.
The 56-year-old brought up Varun Aaron, the former Indian fast bowler, as an example. Despite his talent for bowling at high speeds, Aaron’s international career was marred by injuries, allowing him to play only 18 matches for India. Wassan also pointed out that even the legendary Kapil Dev, while capable of bowling faster, refrained from doing so because he understood the potential risks it posed to his longevity in the game.
“I am saying it all because if a guy gets injured, they throw him out. A similar kind of thing happened with Varun Aaron, he got overexcited and it went on to cost him. Kapil Dev could also bowl the out-and-out pace bowling but he knew that these guys would overhype him and would also push him aside after getting injured,” Wassan further said.
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