Mayank Yadav may have caught everyone's attention in IPL 2024 with his raw pace and razor-sharp control, but it's 'not wise' to fast-track him to Test cricket, said two-time World Cup-winning Australian all-rounder Shane Watson.
Since debuting against Punjab Kings, the 21-year-old Lucknow Super Giants pacer has turned heads with successive match-winning performances to revive his team's campaign.
"Obviously, the talk of the town is Mayank Yadav, to be able to see someone of his world-class speed and then also world-class skill on display... Lucknow Super Giants are unbelievably lucky to be able to have him," said Watson on JioCinema.
Following his debut figures of 3/27 where he stunned Englishman Jonny Bairstow with his searing pace, he rocked Royal Challengers Bengaluru, grabbing 3/14.
He blew away Australian allrounder Glenn Maxwell with a 151kph delivery, and then cleaned up his teammate Cameron Green.
"To be able to perform on the big stage against the best batters in the world and dominate them and blow them away is something very, very special."
So is he ready for the Tests, with the year-ending five-match series Down Under in the pipeline?
"Of course, in a perfect world, you'd love to see him playing Test cricket, but just knowing how challenging it is on your body as a fast bowler, to be able to get your body accustomed and resilient enough to be able to handle bowling at high speed, 15-20 overs a day in a Test match on a flat wicket, right now, I don't see it necessary to be able to push his body to that limit.
"There's not too many fast bowlers in the world who come through and are able to bowl at the speed and the control that Mayank does have, so they need to harness that young man's incredible talent and skill that he's got. So, by pushing him to play Test cricket right now, I think that's not wise at all.
"I personally think it's a waste if Indian cricket, really trying to push him into four-day cricket and Test cricket, knowing the incredible value that he can provide in T20 and one-day cricket for India.
"I've seen it in the past, whether it's in India or other parts of the world, when everyone gets very excited about a young speedster that comes in, the thought is always, 'oh, let's push him to play Test cricket because that's the ultimate', and it certainly is, but that does take time.
"While his body is going to mature and get more resilient, which does take a number of years, then I think just by playing T20 and one-day cricket will gradually build up his resilience.
"So I'd love to just see him play the shorter formats while he's just getting used to his body and his body's building that strength that he does need," Watson added.
Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya is in the eye of a storm. He faced unprecedented backlash from the MI fans after the team's six-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals.
Fans have repeatedly booed Hardik, be it at Ahmedabad or Mumbai after he returned to MI as skipper replacing five-time IPL-winning skipper Rohit Sharma.
"For Hardik, the one thing that he's done so well throughout his career is been able to just shut out the noise, put his blinkers on, just put his headphones on and just focus on his ability to be able to execute his skill under immense pressure -- and he's done that.
"He is such an incredibly skilled cricketer and he's a great tactician and a great leader. So, he just needs to shut out the noise that's obviously all around," said Watson.
"And he does need to put his headphones on and not allow any of that noise that's around the grounds to be able to penetrate his bubble. That's when he's at his best, that bubble is bulletproof," Watson said.
Watson backed his former World Cup-winning skipper Ricky Ponting, who is facing a tough phase as head coach of a struggling Delhi Capitals.
"It is only the start of the tournament. The Delhi Capitals played amazingly well against CSK. They played as good a game of cricket as they possibly can. The biggest challenge is for the Delhi Capitals to be able to repeat that consistently throughout this tournament.
"There's no reason why they can't, and Ricky Ponting is one of the best leaders, and he certainly was the best leader in and around Australian cricket that I was involved in. He enhanced my cricket through the times that he captained me for a big part of my career."
Aussie batting allrounder Cameron Green is having a lacklustre IPL so far with poor returns with both bat and ball and Watson blamed it on RCB's inability to utilise their resources well.
He said Green should be promoted to No. 3 and given the new ball.
"The most important thing is he's a No. 3 batter. So, if RCB want to get the very best out of him, they need to just lock him in at No. 3. And over a period of a whole IPL tournament, he will definitely win some matches for the team.
"And the same thing with the ball. He's a highly skilled new ball bowler. He can swing the ball both ways. He's got good pace. So, I think the biggest challenge for RCB and what they need to do is just get him engaged in the game more often. RCB, unfortunately, throughout their history, have got more of a habit of not necessarily doing that."
