Mayank Yadav, the fast bowler for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), is joining the team on Tuesday, April 15, after missing the first half of the season due to a back injury. He hasn’t played since October 2024 when he was with the Indian team in a couple of T20Is against Bangladesh. Since then, he’s been recovering at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence.
The head coach of LSG mentioned on April 4 that Yadav was about 90-95% fit and was eager to have him back with the squad. According to an ESPNCricinfo report, he should be ready for the next match against the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on April 19. LSG had to deal with the absence of their Indian pacers at the start of the season; Mohsin Khan was out, and Avesh Khan and Akash Deep could only join later.
Shardul Thakur stepped in for Mohsin and has done pretty well, being among the top wicket-takers with 11 wickets. But it’s Digvesh Rathi who has surprised everyone, becoming reliable in the middle overs. The bowling lineup wasn’t expected to perform well, yet they managed to hold Mumbai Indians to 203, and kept teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans below 190 and 180, respectively.
So far, the batting has carried the team, and when the opposing bowlers have performed well, LSG struggled. With four wins and three losses, they’re at a key point in their campaign, and Yadav’s return should give a boost to a bowling attack that has shown potential but hasn’t really dominated opponents yet.
