Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will take on Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 12 in the 26th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Ahead of the clash, LSG's head coach Justin Langer said that pace sensation Mayank Yadav is likely to miss the next two games as he is recovering from tightness in his hip.
Langer and Co. are also optimistic about his return to cricketing action for their upcoming match against Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 19 at the Ekana cricket stadium.
"That's the plan (to have Mayank fit for the match against Chennai Super Kings on April 19). We want him to play every game if possible," Langer said in a press conference.
“But he'll be working towards it; he's working very hard every day to be ready for whatever our next game is. He won't play tomorrow, it's unlikely... with the very short turnaround, it's unlikely that he plays these two games. But he's certainly working towards playing whenever he possibly can.”
21-year-old Mayank hit the headlines and became an overnight sensation by consistently bowling at 150kmph. He bowled a delivery at 155.8 km/h and won the man-of-the-match award on debut against Shikhar Dhawan’s Punjab Kings (PBKS). Mayank's fastest delivery was against the RCB when he clocked 156.7 kmph. Mayank had walked off the field after bowling just one over against Shubman Gill's Gujarat Titans (GT) on April 7 as he had experienced ‘soreness in the lower abdominal area'.
"He felt a little bit of tightness at the top of his hip leading into the last game, but that was about a one-out-of-ten pain, and we thought that they were clinical signs," Langer said.
"Everything through the doctors and the physios seemed perfectly okay. He bowled that first over (against Titans) and started feeling something in his hip. But we had an MRI scan, and there is a very, very small swelling in there. So we are very hopeful he'll start building himself up and be back bowling again soon," 53-year-old added.
Notably, LSG have ascended to the third position in the points table, while DC are in the last position in the standings.
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