Since making his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut against Punjab Kings (PBKS), the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Mayank Yadav became an overnight sensation. In a country where 150kmph-plus pace is rare, Mayank seemed to entice the fans with every ball he bowled. He broke a few pace-bowling records, took seven wickets and then had to sit on sidelines due to side strain. He couldn’t play domestic cricket either. That’s when he was taken under the wing at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). A few months later, he received his maiden T20I call-up for home series against Bangladesh. Responding to the news, his coach Devender Sharma credits NCA head VVS Laxman for his recovery.
“All credit to Laxman sir. He took a special interest in Mayank, right from the day Mayank went to NCA. He was given a clear instruction by Laxman sir to first work on his core strength and then start bowling,” Devender told The Indian Express.
Mayank has had problems with injuries at young age. Devendra further revealed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not want to rush him back. But Mayank has got back to his old self and bowling 15 overs a day at the NCA.
“It was a slow process. BCCI didn’t want to take any risk. He started bowling two months back, and it took him a month to get back to his normal speed. For the past six weeks, he has been bowling 15 overs per day at the NCA, another instruction given to him by Laxman sir,” he added.
Not ready for Test cricket yet
After seeing Mayank bowl at breakneck speeds, many former cricketers said that he should be on the flight to Australia later this year for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. However, Laxman does not want to unleash him yet in red-ball cricket.
Mayank to play Ranji?
It will be interesting to see if the 22-year-old plays in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 or not. He has been named in the list of 84 probables but will need clearance from the NCA. He made his Ranji debut in December 2022 against Maharashtra where he took two wickets.
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