Was Not Expecting National Call-up so Early, Says Mayank Markande After Maiden Selection for Australia series

India vs Australia 2019: Punjab spinner Mayank Markande made headlines on Friday after getting his maiden call-up for Team India.

India vs Australia 2019: Punjab spinner Mayank Markande made headlines on Friday after getting his maiden call-up for Team India. BCCI announced the ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming Australia series and Markande found himself in the T20I squad. This is probably the biggest moment in his life and the wily spinner caught the eye of the nation during the IPL, where he played for the Mumbai Indians. Markande, all excited after the maiden national call-up, spoke to Indian Express admitting that he wasn’t expecting the national call-up so early and that this is the biggest achievement in his career so far.

“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,” said Markande.

“I have gained maximum exposure from IPL and since I got the break in IPL my game has improved” said the youngster.

Meanwhile, Kohli returned to lead the side following a break.

Kohli had sat out the final two ODIs and the three T20Is against New Zealand but is back to lead the team in the entire series against the Kangaroos.

Keeping in mind the preparations for the upcoming ICC World Cup, the BCCI selectors named two different squads for the subsequent five-ODI series against the Australians.

The only difference between the squads is seasoned pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar returning to the 15-man squad for the final three matches, replacing Siddharth Kaul, who was included for the two T20Is and the first two 50-over games.

Wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik, who was part of the ODI squad in Australia and New Zealand, has not been included in the squad with Rishabh Pant getting a call-up.

The T20Is will be played on February 24 and February 27 in Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru, respectively, followed by the ODI series starting in Hyderabad on March 2.