Just like his admirable and hard-to-suppress (or shall one say, simply hard to ignore) fast bowling, Mayank Yadav himself is hard to ignore. For someone who bowled north of 156 kmph an hour, speed found Mayank Yadav and ditto for Mayank Yadav finding a home in the Lucknow franchise in the Indian Premier League. 

And although he played no more than 2 games the last season in the checkered competition that is the Indian Premier League, injury forcing its way to trump the right arm pacer, Mayank Yadav has been suspected of having injured himself again this time around. 

Which perhaps explains his absence thus far in the 2026 season

But now there seems to be clarity on the next immediate availability of the noted fast bowler. 

What to expect from on the Mayank Yadav development

Fast bowler Mayank Yadav is close to making his return for Lucknow Super Giants in the ongoing IPL season, but a final call on his inclusion is yet to be made.

Mayank’s journey over the past year has not been easy.

Injuries and long rehabilitation phases have kept him out of action for an extended period. Last season, he featured in just two matches, with his final appearance coming on May 4, where he conceded 60 runs against Punjab Kings.

Tom Moody with the much-needed inputs

However, according to LSG’s Global Director of Cricket Tom Moody, the young pacer is now ready to return.

“Mayank is ready to go. He didn’t come into our thinking early in the tournament because he was still a little underdone—not from a fitness point of view, but in terms of bowling loads and feeling comfortable at the crease,” Moody said.

Moody added that Mayank has worked hard to regain full rhythm and is now at a stage where he can be considered for selection.

At the same time, his return has created a positive headache for the team management. LSG’s bowling unit has performed well so far, even though the batting has not delivered consistently.

“We feel he is now at that point. He has worked exceptionally hard. But that does give us a selection headache because our bowling has been pretty solid. We just haven’t produced the runs to support that,” Moody added.

With Mayank now match-ready, it remains to be seen when LSG decide to bring him back into the playing XI.