Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer has provided an update on speedster Mayank Yadav's injury and his probable comeback date.
After LSG beat Mumbai Indians by 12 runs at home, Langer, in the post-match press conference revealed that his team could get a huge boost as Mayank is "up and running" and bowling at "90 to 95 per cent" at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (formerly the NCA) in Bengaluru.
"What I do know is he's working very hard at the NCA, and I saw some video of him bowling yesterday [Thursday] and he was bowling at about 90 to 95 per cent," Langer said.
"So Mayank's up and running, which is really great for Indian cricket, for IPL. We saw the impact he had last year. I don't think there's been a bowler in India who's bowled faster than Mayank Yadav. That's why there's so much talk about him.
"He's up, he's keen to get going. He bowled really well in Bangalore yesterday at the NCA. I think you have another couple of bowls and hopefully... NCA, to their credit, have obviously done a very good job because they've got Avesh Khan back for us, they've got Akash Deep back for us. So we really appreciate the work they're doing to get the boys back playing and now hopefully Mayank as well."
Read more: Who is Mayank Yadav, the 21-year-old speedster who clocked 155kph on IPL debut?
When is Mayank Yadav expected to play IPL 2025?
The last time Langer provided an update on Mayank, he had mentioned that the pacer was expected to return during the "back-end" of the tournament. While recovering from a back injury at the time, his comeback was delayed by "a week or two" after he stubbed his toe against his bed, leading to an infection.
Reports a couple of weeks before the start of the tournament had said Mayank would miss the first half of the season. Given the most recent update though, one remains optimistic that he could return earlier than initially expected.
LSG’s pre-tournament preparations were marred by injuries to Mayank, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, and Akash Deep, forcing them to sign unsold auction pick Shardul Thakur before the latter two returned.
It was with LSG last year that Mayank announced his arrival, delivering hair-raising thunderbolts at 150-plus kmph. However, his season was cut short after just four matches due to a recurring abdominal injury. Months later, he earned a T20I debut for India but was sidelined again by a back injury.
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