Mayank Yadav had taken the cricketing fraternity by storm against Punjab Kings on IPL debut. Seldom has a spell, that too on maiden appearance at the big stage, been an amalgamation of pace, hostility, and accuracy.

Bowled at reduced pace

He had 4-0-27-3 that day, and improved on that with 4-0-11-3 against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He clocked in excess of 156 kph. He bounced out Test cricketers. He bowled 17 dot balls in a game, the most in this edition.

The anticipation was, thus, huge when he took field against the Gujarat Titans at the Ekana Stadium to help Lucknow Super Giants defend 164. He bowled one over at reduced pace, and never quite attained the pinpoint accuracy that has been a hallmark of his brief IPL career.

He left the field soon afterwards and did not return. “He seemed okay, which was quite a relief for us”, teammate Krunal Pandya assured after the match.

After he completed his sensational spell against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru on April 2, Mayank walked out of the field for an over, before returning to field briefly. He went back out again, pointing at his shin, and got treated from the physio on the sidelines. He was in the dugout when LSG completed the win, walking out to greet the players along with the support staff.

Soreness in abdominal area

“Mayank felt soreness in lower abdominal area and as a precaution we are managing his work load over next week. We hope to see him soon in the field,” Lucknow CEO Colonel Vinod Bisht confirmed in a statement on April 9.

That rules Mayank out of LSG’s next two matches, against Delhi Capitals at home on April 12 and against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on April 14. After that, Lucknow host Chennai Super Kings on April 19. With six points from four games and a net run rate of +.775, LSG are currently third on the points table.

Despite the ordinary outing against Gujarat, Mayank still has tournament figures of 9-0-54-6. With a five-wicket cut-off, he still has the best bowling average and strike rate in IPL 2024.