Who is Mayank Yadav? 5 interesting things to know about LSG's latest IPL 2024 debutant
Among the small tweaks that the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) made to their combination for their first home clash of IPL 2024 against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), was the inclusion of Mayank Yadav. The 21-year-old will be making his debut in the competition.
Mayank had head coach Justin Langer's backing in a rather depleted pace attack for LSG in the 2024 edition. The franchise has been hit with the withdrawal of the English duo, David Willey and Mark Wood. While they have able replacements in Shamar Joseph and Matt Henry, they still need their Indian pacers to fire.
"We also have Shamar Joseph, we have Mayank who bowls with very good pace. Hopefully we can replace, not [Wood's] experience, but his pace with Shamar Joseph and Mayank. He'll be missed - of course he'll be missed, he's a world-class bowler - but this is the world we live in and we will adapt and we will be OK," Langer said during the build up to the season.
On that note, let us take a look at give interesting things to know about LSG's latest IPL 2024 debutant, Mayank Yadav, who might be a prominent feature for the team in the season.
#1 Roped in by LSG during the 2022 mega-auction
LSG acquired the promising pacer for a cheap sum of ₹20 lakhs during the 2022 mega auction. As Mayank Yadav was part of the uncapped player lot, the franchise did not have to rival any other bids from other franchises and bagged him for his base price.
#2 Replaced by Arpit Guleria following injury during IPL 2023 season
Mayank Yadav could not make an impression in the 2023 season, when LSG used several combinations amid the injuries in the squad. The likes of Yash Thakur and Prerak Mankad made it to the playing XI, but Mayank Yadav was not present to claim a chance as he suffered an untimely injury.
LSG had to rope in a replacement to boost their back-up options, and eventually settled on Arpit Guleria, a fellow domestic pacer, for his base price of ₹20 lakh.
#3 Mayank Yadav was among the leading wicket-takers in the 2023 Deodhar Trophy
Mayank Yadav's biggest claim to fame so far is his stellar display for the North Zone in the 2023 Deodhar Trophy. The pacer was the joint second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 12 wickets at an average of 17.57, which included a four-fer against East Zone.
He was the standout performer for the North Zone; the second leading wicket-taker of the side was Nitish Rana with six wickets.
Mayank Yadav's dismissal of Rahul Tripathi in the in the 2023 Deodhar Trophy, where he managed to uproot the middle stump, went viral in social media circles.
#4 Has only played one first-class game to date
Mayank Yadav made his red-ball debut in the 2022 Ranji Trophy season for Delhi against Maharashtra.
The pacer picked up figures of 2/46 in the first innings, claiming the wickets of Siddhesh Veer and Naushad Shaikh. He was not called upon to bowl in the second innings, as Delhi ended up losing the contest by nine wickets.
#5 He has had a short, but credible white ball career so far
Mayank Yadav made his entry into domestic cricket through List-A, making his debut in 2022. He went on to make his T20 debut the next year, and so far he has returned good numbers in both formats.
Till date, across 17 List A matches, he has bagged twice the number of wickets at an average of 21.55. In 10 T20 matches, he has claimed 12 wickets at a miserly economy of 6.55.