Youngster Mayank Yadav will not only miss the upcoming T20I series is South Africa as the Team India pace sensation is reportedly set to spend longer time on the sidelines than first expected.
The 22-year-old from Delhi announced his arrival during IPL 2024 representing the Lucknow Super Giants, grabbing attention in the cricketing circles for his sheer speed. The right-arm pacer clocked 150kmph regularly as pundits expected him to soon be called up to the national side.
While he was consistent with his pace, Mayank suffered a set back due to an injury during IPL 2024 as he missed part of the season and that also delayed his selection in the Indian cricket team.
Mayank Yadav finally made his much anticipated India debut earlier this month during the T20I series against Bangladesh, was not included in the Indian squads for either the South Africa tour or the Border Gavaskar Trophy Down Under.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had simply mentioned that Mayank was unavailable for selection owing to injury without disclosing the nature of the niggle. And it was expected that he would be missing only the South Africa and Australia tours.
However, according to a report from The Telegraph, the young pace sensation has suffered a possible stress fracture, which could see him spend more time on the sidelines.
“There appears to be some problem with his back… Could also be a case of stress fracture. As per the earlier prescription from the NCA (National Cricket Academy), he could play in the Ranji Trophy from its fourth or fifth round, but that’s no longer possible now. He’s again out for quite some time,” the Telegraph quoted a BCCI official as saying.
Earlier, Mayank’s personal coach Devendra Sharma believed that the injury is a fresh one and the pacer could be fit to feature in the home ODI series against England at the start of next year.
“It’s not that Mayank has sustained a fresh injury, but he has been advised not to play (by NCA) now as they’re looking to have him back for the England ODIs (in January 2025),” Sharma had said.
The young pacer was heralded has the next big thing once he made an impressive start to his IPL career and followed that with another brilliant display during his first bow for the national side. But injuries could hamper any chances of him playing regular cricket.
Mayank, who was picked by LSG during the IPL 2022 auction, did not feature in the first two edition with injury again being the cause for him to be ruled out of the 2023 edition. He is likely to be retained by LSG before the next mega auction, but the franchise would hope he is fit in time for the 2025 season.
