Mayank Yadav was set to join the Indian Test squad for the Test series against England.© BCCI
Mayank Yadav was an unknown commodity in the cricket world until he made his debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) against Punjab Kings on Saturday. The Delh-born pacer announced his arrival in the IPL 2024 with a sensational display of pace bowling, with the youngster delivering the fastest ball of this year’s competition. During the match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Lucknow on Saturday, Mayank looked unfazed as his 155.8 kmph scorching Shikhar Dhawan ran into trouble. The 21-year-old eventually picked up three crucial wickets as Lucknow Super Giants registered their first win of IPL 2024.
Now, Mayank’s coach Devender Sharma has claimed that the pacer was in line for a place in the Indian Test squad for the recently concluded Test series against England.
Speaking to RevSportz, Devender suggested that chief selector Ajit Agarkar wanted to see Mayank bowl before selecting him. However, he was sidelined at the time due to an injury.
“He was very sad, almost broken. Who would want to give away the opportunity to impress the chief selector and play for India? I pray to God that he continues to rise and stay fit. He is a very good and strongly built boy. He has an athletic body. He works very hard and can serve India for a long time. He has a good head and that is the most important thing,” Devender told RevSportz.
Devender, who runs the prestigious Sonnet Club, also revealed that Rishabh Pant and Sourav Ganguly wanted Mayank to join Delhi Capitals. He added that Gujarat Titans Ashish Nehra was also interested in the pacer.
For those unfamiliar, Mayank was bought by LSG for Rs 20 lakh before IPL 2022. However, he did not play a single match that season.
The following season he was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.
Mayank was in the spotlight for the first time during the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2021. On his tournament debut, he bowled a maiden in the 49th over to help Delhi defend 12 off the last 12 balls against Haryana.
(With PTI inputs)
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