Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Lucknow Super Giants have received a massive setback with the tournament just days away from start. The newly formed franchise, which came into existence in 2022 edition, is likely to miss the services of pace sensation Mayank Yadav for atleast the first half of the season.
Yadav, who was one of the sought after bowlers in the 2024 edition of the tournament, is still far from regaining complete fitness. According to ESPNcricinfo, the 22-year-old quick is currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), recovering from the lumbar stress injury and has just recently resumed bowling.
Mayank Yadav likely to miss first half of IPL 2025
The India pacer suffered a back injury following his debut in the T20I series against Bangladesh last year. However, he underwent rehabilitation but there is no fixed time set to his return to the field. Moreover, the reports have mentioned that if the pacer meets the fitness guidelines, he could be available to play for LSG in the second half of the season.
The 22-year-old Indian pacer, who startled the world his 150 kmph deliveries, was retained by LSG ahead of the mega auction in November after being earlier bought by the franchise for INR 20 Lakh. LSG’s Director of Cricket, Zaheer Khan also spoke of Mayank Yadav’s presence while adding that he wants him to be 150 per cent fit. “As much as we are keen on having him [play IPL 2025], we want him 150% fit not just 100% fit so we'll do everything possible to get him there,” Zaheer had said.
However, developments are still awaited on Mayank Yadav’s fitness, the Super Giants will kickstart their campaign on Monday, March 24 where they will take on Delhi Capitals in Visakhapatnam.
Lucknow Super Giants' squad for IPL 2025
Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant, David Miller, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Avesh Khan, Abdul Samad, Aryan Juyal, Akash Deep, Shahbaz Ahmad, M. Siddharth, Akash Singh, Digvesh Singh, Himmat Singh, Aryan Juyal, Shamar Joseph, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Prince Yadav, Matthew Breetzke, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshini Kulkarni
