Lucknow : Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Mayank Yadav is all set to join the squad on Tuesday after his recovery from injury, according to ESPNCricinfo. Mayank will likely be playing LSG's next game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday in Jaipur, the report said. His availability will be a massive boost for LSG, who started the competition without him.
Avesh Khan and Akash Deep were also not present in the start of the campaign, but have since then returned. Mohsin Khan also suffered an injury which ruled him out of the competition and all-rounder Shardul Thakur was his replacement.
Despite a relatively depleted pace attack so far, LSG has won four games out of six so far. Mayank, 22, was recovering from a back injury and had been out of action since October 2024, when he made his international debut and played three T20Is against Bangladesh at home. He missed the entire domestic season due to a back injury sustained in the series and recovered at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Just ten days back, LSG head coach Justin Langer had watched the videos of the bowler operating at "90 to 95 per cent" and said that the pacer would be joining the LSG camp soon. Mayank had an injury-ridden 2024. After rising to fame with two 'Player of the Match' performances in his first three Indian Premier League (IPL) games during which he troubled plenty of sports stars with his consistent 150 mph-plus pace, accurate and controlled line-and-length, he faced an abdominal issue that ruled him out of the tournament. After recovering from that injury at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), he picked up another injury there while bowling. In his debut IPL season, he had taken seven scalps in four games.
Thakur, LSG's most experienced pacer, is on the second of the top-wicket-takers list with 11 scalps in six matches. Spinner Digvesh Rathi has been a massive find for the team this season, with eight wickets in seven matches.