‘My goal is to play for India’: Mayank Yadav

Lucknow Super Giants’s new pace sensation Mayank Yadav hopes his back-to-back match-winning performances open doors to represent the country soon

M Siddharth lived out a dream at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday night. In the process, he also came good on his word to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) head coach Justin Langer. Yet, he was not even the star of the show during his team’s convincing 28-run defeat of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Dream wicket

Entrusted with the first over of the chase as RCB set out in quest of 182—Siddharth bowled three overs in the powerplay—the left-arm spinner accounted for Virat Kohli with his 14th delivery, caught off the leading edge at point. “I had always dreamt of taking his wicket,” the 25-year-old gushed. “You can ask anyone… it’s the biggest wicket you can take. I’m really happy.” Not a bad first wicket to have in the IPL.

Kohli was but one of several big tickets in the RCB batting unit. Someone else had to step up and account for the rest. That someone else answered to the name of Mayank Yadav, the 21-year-old tearaway from Delhi who is making heads turn and people sit up and take notice.

On debut against Punjab Kings, Mayank had picked up three for 23, and the Player of the Match award. He went one better on Tuesday, cleaning up Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green and Rajat Patidar, finishing with three for 14 from four overs that included 16 dot balls. He repeatedly flirted with the 150 kmph mark and at times breezed past 155, his skiddy pace making him impossible to line up. “I have played against him in local matches and we planned to use his pace against him, but we made some mistakes,” conceded Mahipal Lomror, who came on as RCB’s Impact Player and smashed 33 off 13, the highest score in his team’s tally of 153 all out. “Mayank is bowling really well and I am happy for him.”

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The man in question is determined not to get ahead of himself. Having missed last season through injury, he is well aware of the importance of making a good thing count. “I feel very good, winning two Player of the Match awards, but happier because we won both matches,” Mayank said at the post-match presentation. “My aim is to play for India as much as possible. I feel this is just the start and my mail goal is what I am focused on.”

Worth a wait

Mayank has a plethora of members in the dugout to turn to for support and encouragement. One of them is KL Rahul, his captain who has already led the country in all formats. “So happy to see Mayank bowl the way he has in the last couple of games,” Rahul observed. “He has quietly waited for two seasons because of injury, but he has been working very hard. It’s great seeing him bowl that fast from behind the stumps.”

156.7kph
LSG pacer Mayank Yadav’s bowling speed against RCB; the fastest in IPL-17

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