Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes has reserved big praise for uncapped Indian pacer Mayank Yadav by calling him the Rolls Royce of the Lucknow Super Giants. Rhodes, who has been associated with the Lucknow-based franchise in the IPL as fielding coach, has worked closely with Mayank Yadav in the cash-rich league earlier this year.
Mayank Yadav The Delhi-based pacer was signed by LSG for Rs 20 lakh in the IPL 2023 auction, but he missed the first season due to injury. He made his IPL debut this year against the Punjab Kings and caught everyone’s attention with his raw pace. He was, however, only able to play four matches in the IPL 2024 before being ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
Mayank Yadav career as a sensational bowler for LSG IN 2024 and a bright prospect for Indian future.
India usually is not known for fast bowlers, but there have been a few who have grabbed the eyeball of the entire cricket fraternity. One among them is young Delhi pacer Mayank Yadav. The fast bowler showed his potential to the World in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 while playing for the Lucknow Super Giants.
Mayank Yadav, touted as the fastest bowler in India, oozed his class with the ball in a few games that he played in the league. The fast bowler could play just three games and then was ruled out of the tournament. However, the three games were enough for him to make the impact he would’ve wanted.
Mayank Yadav made everyone stand and applaud for his heroics. The fast bowler in the game against Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru wreaked havoc and won two Player of the Match awards in the first two games that he played.
Mayank Yadav consistently clocked around 155 kmph and troubled the batters big time. The fast bowler made batters dance to his tune and snatched the victory for his team from the jaws of defeat. However, after that, he got injured, and since then, he has been at the NCA, getting fit.
Mayank Yadav also hasn’t been named in the Duleep Trophy 2024. Recently, Jay Shah was asked about the pacer’s entry into the Indian team. However, the BCCI secretary said that there’s no guarantee about his place as the fast bowler is still recovering from the injury.
The 22-year-old, playing for LSG consistently breached the 150 kmph mark in the 4 matches that he bowled in, leaving seasoned batsmen bewildered. In his debut match against PBKS, Mayank clocked a speed of 155.8 kmph, the fastest ball of IPL 2024 at that point. He took three wickets, including those of Jonny Bairstow and Prabhsimran Singh, and was instrumental in LSG’s victory. This performance was not a one-off, as he continued to impress against RCB, where he clocked a speed of 156.7 kmph, the fastest delivery in IPL 2024.
After a sensational debut in the Indian Premier League’s 2024 season, things have been eerily quiet for Mayank Yadav. The young pace sensation from Delhi who took the world by storm with his exceptional speed and accuracy has not played a single match since the conclusion of the tournament. Despite the back-to-back sensational outings to begin his IPL career, Mayank Yadav played only two more games before being sidelined by an abdominal strain injury.
The Delhi-born youngster displayed a rare combination of speed and accuracy in the limited time, picking up seven wickets in four matches at an average of 12.14 and an economy of under 7. Despite playing 17 first-class and 14 T20 games, Mayank Yadav has played only the lone first-class encounter for Delhi.
But in his limited appearances, Mayank Yadav made headlines and caught everyone’s attention. According to Rhodes, Mayank Yadav is extremely talented, and that’s why LSG stuck with him despite his fitness-related issues.
Jonty Rhodes praises and reveals Morne Morkel’s impression of Mayank Yadav the sensational T20 pacer.
Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) fielding coach Jonty Rhodes has revealed that the franchise’ erstwhile pace bowling coach Morne Morkel believes that Mayank Yadav is a prized possession owing to his serious pace. Rhodes said that Morkel compared Yadav to Allan Donald, legendary South African pacer.
Notably, Mayank Yadav made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for the Lucknow-based franchise in 2024. The 22-year-old impressed everyone with sheer pace, bowling consistently at 150 kmph. The speedster, however, managed just four games, picking up seven wickets, including three-for against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Mayank Yadav sustained an injury while playing against the Gujarat Titans (GT) due to lower abdomen soreness, which forced him to miss many games.
While hinting at IPL 2025 retentions, Rhodes credited the Super Giants for allowing the youngster to stay with the team despite injury while working on his rehabilitation. The 55-year-old recently told IANS (via Mid-Day):
“I’m not a bowling coach, but Morne Morkel, during the previous season, when Mayank got injured at the start of the preparation, literally Morne said, ‘Wow, this guy (Mayank Yadav), he’s like the Rolls Royce of bowlers, similar to how we used to call Allan Donald a Rolls Royce. He is LSG’s Rolls Royce.”
“He had a whole season with the team and that’s why the owners decided to keep him with the team, he did all his rehab throughout the IPL and stayed a part of the unit because we really believe that he is a young guy with extreme talent and we saw him in the games that he played and everybody was really monitoring him not wrapping him in cotton wool,” Rhodes added.
Mayank Yadav holds the record of bowling the fastest delivery of IPL 2024, 156.7 kmph against RCB.
Jonty Rhodes wants LSG to handle Mayank Yadav with care
Jonty Rhodes further warned LSG to groom Mayank Yadav properly while citing Umran Malik’s downfall. Rhodes wants Mayank to focus on line and lengths and not just pace.
He said:
“We saw what happened with Umran Malik who burst onto the scenes at sheer pace we all got excited, but you know the question is can the player bowl to the game plan that’s because they’re bowling some of the best batters in the world and sometimes on really good surfaces so if you’ve just got pace and you can’t bowl in good areas or with good skill, the better players will hit you out the ground.”
He added:
“So I think from a point of view where LSG haven’t worried about, or haven’t gone, let’s wrap him in cotton wool, because then he comes to the game, you never know what’s going to happen.
“But the preparation is key and hopefully, you know, through the season when the off season and now the season again by the time he comes to IPL and if he’s playing with LSG again or even if he’s not playing for LSG I just hope Mayank is bowling and is fit for the whole IPL because there’s a talent that is exciting.”
Notably, Malik had a breakthrough IPL 2022 season, where he picked up 22 wickets but managed just five wickets in eight games at a 10.85 economy rate in the 2023 edition. The Kashmir-born pacer bowled just one over in IPL 2024, giving away 15 runs. He failed to make it to the playing XI against competitors like skipper Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Jaydev Unadkat, and Marco Jansen.
While LSG is favorite to retain Mayank Yadav, it remains to be seen whether the SunRisers Hyderabad retain Umran Malik for the IPL 2025 season.