Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Ambati Rayudu has accused Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) of rushing back pace sensation Mayank Yadav. After Mayank conceded 60 runs from his quota of four overs against Punjab Kings (PBKS), Rayudu feels that LSG roped him back into the side out of 'desperation'. He is not concerned about the drop in pace but the lack of confidence he has currently.
"I think it is a lack of confidence more than pace, because once you are coming back from an injury, it is really hard to really bend your back and get back at your best. We have seen Archer, it took him six months to be back at his best. It will tough if we say he (Mayank) is not performing, but LSG might have just shown some desperation to just get him into the mix, maybe he is not ready yet," Rayudu said on ESPN Cricinfo.
Mayank was taken to the cleaners by Josh Inglis who hit him for three sixes in an over. Inglis was promoted up the order and exploited Mayank's plan to bowl short deliveries. Then, Prabhsimran Singh hit him for two sixes and a four.
In the post-match press conference, PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting revealed that captain Shreyas Iyer promoted Inglis ahead of him to bat at no.3 to counter Mayank's short ball ploy.
"It was actually a move that the captain came up with. He thought on that sort of pitch, against that bowling attack, that it would be the right thing to if a wicket fell early to send Inglis in. We felt that Mayank would bowl early on. If you look at the way he bowls, he generally bowls reasonably short. And that's one of Inglis' great strengths, as you saw tonight. Those pull shots were pretty amazing straight away," Ponting told the reporters.
"It was probably a surprise call for LSG to see him [Inglis] go out [at No. 3] and it paid off for us tonight. So once we got off to a [start], I think we were 70-odd at the end of the powerplay, all the momentum was going with us," he added.
How Mayank fared in his first game since injury
The 22-year-old has played just two games since his return. He replaced Shardul Thakur in the previous game against Mumbai Indians (MI). At Wankhede Stadium, Rohit hit him for two sixes before losing his wicket to a slower ball. He knocked over Hardik Pandya as well but conceded 40 runs from four overs he bowled.