The IPL 2026 retention list was made public on November 15. All the teams had thus rounded up their squads before the mini auction. Among the players on the LSG retained list was young pacer Mayank Yadav who made it rather difficult to arrive at a decision.
Just before the retention deadline, Lucknow Super Giants were reported to be offloading Mayank and Ravi Bishnoi as a strategy to increase their budget. The two were among the players who had been retained at INR 11 crore each prior to the mega auction 2025. Bishnoi’s performance with the ball has not been very encouraging and in the meantime Mayank has been facing injuries.
Bishnoi ended up being one of the LSG released players in 2026, while Mayank was given another chance by the franchise.
Was There even a chance for LSG to release Mayank Yadav?
Some names like David Miller, Bishnoi, and Akash Deep were among the noticeable ones missing from the LSG retention list 2026. There was a concrete reason for the franchise to part ways with Mayank because of his injuries.
In his two seasons of IPL, he could only play six games and then he was out of action due to season-ending injuries.
Let’s take a look at his injury timeline:
In IPL 2024, he was ruled out with a mid-season stress-related back injury. It took him six months to be back on the field.
He debuted in T20I for India in October 2024 but got injured again, which meant he had to stay out of the entire 2024-25 season.
In IPL 2025, Mayank was back in LSG’s 10th match of the season. He capped only two encounters before another back injury curtailed his season again.
In June 2025, the fast bowler was operated on for his back issue at Christchurch, New Zealand. It takes about eight months for recovery in total.
Mayank Yadav, who played two games in IPL 2025, looked like nothing more than a shadow of the bowler he was before the injury, managed to take only two wickets, and conceded 100 runs in eight overs. Nevertheless, the team has made up its mind to keep him for the future.
Why Was Mayank Yadav retained despite Ordinary returns and injury concerns?
Lucknow Super Giants had the opportunity to turn their back on Mayank Yadav, but they decided otherwise. This is the result of several factors.
To begin with, Mayank is in his early twenties which is a definite advantage for him. Only 23 years of age, he is still a long way off from reaching his peak in terms of fitness and skill. Young fast bowlers are usually more prone to injuries, but can gain considerable endurance as they grow older.
He is one of the leading fast bowling prospects in the country, who can bowl at a very fast pace. He won the hearts of the cricketing community with his speed in his debut season and was soon drafted into the Indian team. Injuries might be a setback, but the team believes in his comeback.
The shortage of quality Indian pacers in domestic cricket is another reason why he made it to the LSG retained players 2026 list. There are hardly any reliable options in the pool that teams can draw from.
Mayank Yadav is likely to be back in the game by February. The mere potential that he possesses in addition to his already existing skills was enough to attract the franchise.
LSG has already invested significant amounts of money in him in the last two years; hence, it wouldn’t be logical to let him go now.