Australia have added Under-19 star Mahli Beardman to their squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against India.
Beardman has been added to Australia’s squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series in India starting October 29. The hosts have announced a shake-up, particularly in their bowling department, with Josh Hazlewood leaving after the first two games and Sean Abbott after the third match. They will be released to fine-tune their preparations for the home Ashes series starting November 21.
This isn’t the first time Beardman has received an international call-up, as he was named as an injury replacement during Australia's 2024 white-ball tour of England, although he is yet to make his debut.
Two games, two wins.
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Who is Mahli Beardman?
Born in Dunsborough, Western Australia, at six foot two, Beardman is among the latest breed of fast bowlers in Australia's circuit. He runs in hard with his wiry frame, clocking speeds in the mid-140 km/h range with the ability to swing the new ball at pace. He was one of Australia's stars during their 2024 Under-19 World Cup win, their fourth title in the tournament. By the time Beardman entered the tournament in January last year, he had already made his List A debut for Western Australia in a match against New South Wales in November 2023.
At the U19 World Cup, Beardman took 10 wickets at an average of 10.50 and an economy of 2.77, including a Player of the Match performance of 3-15 against India in the final. Only one player took more wickets at a better average and an economy – Saumy Pandey, with 18 wickets at 10.27 and 2.68. The last Australian before Beardman to win such an award was Josh Hazlewood (4-30 against Pakistan in 2010).
Beardman has played five List A matches so far, taking 12 wickets at an average of 17.75 and an economy rate of 5.75. His best performance in this format is 4-46, which came against champions South Australia last season, albeit in a losing cause. Coming off a back injury, he has taken 3-48 and 2-55 in his only two List A matches for Western Australia (WA) this season.
In T20 cricket, he made an immediate impact in the Big Bash League (BBL) earlier this year, taking 3-17 for the Perth Scorchers against the Adelaide Strikers in what was just his second career T20 match.
Beardman was just eight years old when Mitchell Johnson took 37 wickets in Australia’s Ashes whitewash against England in 2013-14, and he feels that series changed his "whole mindset of the sport". Dennis Lillee, Johnson’s mentor, also took Beardman under his wing, which he feels helped him develop his mindset as well as his game.
"I've been working with him since I was about 14 or 15," Beardman said to ESPNcricinfo in 2024. "He's been unbelievable for me from a cricket sense, but also from a character point of view. It can be a pretty taxing game."
He had also rubbed shoulders with Pat Cummins during a training session with the Australia team at the WACA before the West Indies Test in late 2022. Beardman recapitulated the advice Cummins gave.
"I didn't have a lot to say to Pat, I was pretty nervous," Beardman recollected.
"I tried to pick his 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."
Cummins’ wisdom was imprinted all over Beardman’s searing spell during the U19 World Cup final when he rattled the stumps of a set Musheer Khan for 22 while defending 253-7. With Australia playing another home Ashes series just a month from now, and with Cummins reportedly in doubt for the series opener, a strong outing in the T20Is against India might open the door for him to earn a call-up to Australia's Test side. If that happens, he would find himself on the same stage that transfixed him during Johnson’s exploits 11 years ago.
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