When Mayank Yadav joined the Lucknow Super Giants on April 16 there was a lot of excitement to see the speedster back in action. Caution, however, remained the keyword as he was returning to competitive cricket after a long injury lay-off. LSG didn't play him straightaway. His first game, against Mumbai Indians on April 27, came only after spending more than a week with the franchise.
Little would the youngster have known back then that his campaign was going to come to a screeching halt, once again. The 2/40 was followed by a 0/60 vs Punjab Kings in what turned out to be his second, and last, game of the season.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The signs were there in the two matches. The 150 kmph Mayank, who had taken world cricket by storm with his raw pace, had dropped to 140 kmph range and resorting to variations. It left many within the LSG camp "baffled".
So what exactly went wrong? Was it the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) Centre of Excellence (CoE) or desperation from the franchise to have their Rs 11 crore retention back on the field when fast bowling remained an area of concern for them? It can be attributed to a mix of both and a well-placed source reveals Mayank was rushed back to competitive cricket.
The youngster's rehabilitation was overseen by former head of sports science and medical Nitin Patel but when he left his role on March 31, Dhananjay Kaushik, currently the lead physiotherapist at CoE, took over. It is further learnt that Mayank had only 10-12 bowling sessions before he got the Return-To-Play stamp of approval by the CoE.
Mayank Yadav took two wickets for LSG before being released from IPL 2025. (AP)
"For a bowler who had such a long absence from the game, it's surprising that it took the CoE just 10-12 sessions to give him a green signal. One-third of those sessions were at a reduced intensity and he started bowling at 80-85% only towards the end of March," a source told TimesofIndia.com.
"You get a true picture only when you operate at full tilt and then take enough time to assess how the body is responding to the increased workload. That workload is gradually increased to observe and assess how the body is reacting to different levels of intensity. With Mayank, it looked like mere boxes were ticked," says the source.
It is further understood that when Mayank joined the LSG camp, there was a trace of swelling in his back and he continued to take it easy in the nets. There was a lot of taping done on the body to avoid the sudden cramping - something which is common when a bowler returns to action after a long layoff.
The speed meter continued to remind that Mayank was nowhere close to peak fitness as he dropped at least 10kmph to his previous average pace and opted for variations - slower ones and cutters.
"It is baffling why his action isn't addressed yet. His body continues to fall towards the side after landing and that impact will continue to add stress to his back. It is like a car running at 150 kmph and taking a sudden left turn. The pace which he generates is because of the natural gift of the hyperextension of the elbow of the bowling arm. Action needs to be addressed and he needs a proper rehabilitation plan which should have no interference from anyone - franchise, state team or anyone," added the source.
The LSG management had a discussion with Mayank a few days back and it's learnt that is where the decision to release him was taken. A source close to developments revealed that the youngster was asked about the dip in pace and why he is not bowling much on non-match days to stay in rhythm.
"There was a discussion at LSG about this. Mayank was asked about his drop in pace and non-match days activities. He told them that he is giving his best but not able to go beyond and for the non-match day workload, he informed them about his routine which has been going on since the rehab at the CoE. The timing of the decision and the discussions during that meeting made it clear that they had lost trust in him and are unlikely to retain him for the next edition," says the source.
Mayank is not your regular bowler as very few in the country have breached the 150 kmph mark. The BCCI clearly felt the need to take him under their wraps when he was awarded the contract for fast bowlers and he remained on the selectors' radar.
The current situation, however, doesn't paint a good picture as his rehabilitation and rushed return to cricket raises pertinent questions on the CoE. The role of the franchise is secondary here because it was the Indian cricket board which needed to ensure complete recovery and well-being of their bowler.
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