Australia made an interesting inclusion of Mahli Beardman for India T20Is.
Who is Mahli Beardman? That might be the first question among several cricket fans after seeing the changes in Australia’s T20I squad. After all, he has not been among the most popular names.
Australia made an interesting inclusion of Mahli Beardman for India T20Is. He will join the squad from the third game once Josh Hazlewood goes out after the initial two T20Is. Beardman has earned a national call-up for the second time, the first being for the white-ball rubber against England last year, though he has yet to make his international debut.
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Mahli Beardman is among the most exciting fast bowlers from Western Australia with encouraging attributes. He can bowl at a high pace consistently and possesses a natural ability to extract swing at pace, which makes him lethal to face. He was inspired by Mitchell Johnson’s historic Ashes 2013/14 run, which changed his mindset towards the sport.
Beardman has been working with Dennis Lillee since a nascent age, which has helped him develop quickly. His talent was palpable from an early age, and the 20-year-old also had a net session with the likes of Pat Cummins at the WACA in the 2022 summer. Cummins explained to him the importance of creating angles and bowling from wide of the crease.
“I tried to pick his (Cummins) brain. One thing that he did tell me was the importance of crease angles, bowling wide, and not being stationary. That has been a big difference for me because I started experimenting – going wider and changing things up to batters,” Beardman told ESPNcricinfo.
From there on, the pacer has picked up rather quickly. He was selected for the U19 World Cup 2024 and played an instrumental role in making Australia U19 champions for the fourth time. Beardman bowled brilliantly throughout the competition, showing his high ceiling.
Mahli Beardman made his List A debut against New South Wales in 2023 and was a bit expensive, conceding 42 runs in his six overs, even though he picked a wicket. From there on, he was selected for the U19 World Cup, grabbing 10 wickets at an average of 10.50 and an economy rate of 2.78 in six innings in the tournament. His match-winning spell came in the final against India U19, where he registered 3/15 in seven overs and won the Player of the Match award.
Overall, in List A cricket, Beardman has played five matches, snaring 12 wickets at an average of 17.75 in five innings. He had a setback after sustaining a back injury earlier this year, but has bounced back strongly. The young sensation has started the One-Day Cup on a high note, registering figures of 3/48 & 2/55 in the initial two matches.
Surprisingly, Beardman has played only two T20s in his young career and still finds a spot in the T20I side, suggesting that the selectors see something special in him. Both of his T20 games have come for the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League (BBL), where he has three wickets at 12 runs apiece. He will be part of the same franchise in the upcoming season and will look to build on this impressive start.
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