How LSG’s Mayank Yadav has taken IPL 2024 by Storm with his Fast Bowling

Budding cricketers in India are fanatics about speed. Everyone wants to be a speedster and bowl at a lethal pace like Brett Lee or Shoaib Akhtar. And when, Mayank Yadav bowled the fastest delivery of this season so far, that is, 156.7 kmph, all eyes turned on him. A smooth bowling action with good body alignment, fast stride, and explosiveness of muscle to generate pace—all the boxes were efficiently ticked by this young lad. Spectators have started noticing him and cricket pundits have started seeing him as the new rising star of the Indian Cricket Team.

Credit: News18

In this article by ZAP, let's learn more about Mayank Yadav, his career, his express pace bowling and what makes him special.

Mayank Yadav’s IPL 2024 Carnage:

On March 30, the IPL discovered a new probable candidate for the pace department, Mayank Yadav, who bowls at a lethal pace. Mayank Yadav was playing his first game in the IPL for Lucknow Super Giants against the Punjab Kings in the IPL. The 21 year old pacer from Delhi, has played merely 29 domestic matches. However, in his debut IPL game, he showed that age is just a number, bowling 4 overs, taking 3 wickets and conceding only 27 runs. He dismissed premier international batsmen Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma. All 3 of them got out in similar fashion, failing to judge the pace of the Mayank’s deliveries and mistiming their shots. The story was quite similar in his second match too, where he again took 3 wickets in his quota of 4 overs and gave away only 13 runs, brilliant for a fast bowler in a T20 game. What impressed the most was his line and length and how he took the wickets of Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, and Rajat Patidar. The highlight of his spell was when he cleaned up Cameron Green knocking the top of his off stump. So far, it can be said that it will be exhilarating to see where he ends up by the end of the tournament in terms of number of wickets. 

Credit: India Today

Also Read: How to increase fast bowling speed

Who is Mayank Yadav and How did Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG) find him:

Mayank Yadav was born on 17 June 2002 and is currently just 21 years old. Born in the capital city, Delhi he has played domestic cricket there only. Hailing from the prestigious Sonnet Cricket Academy in Delhi, Mayank Yadav was picked by the scouting team of the Lucknow SuperGiants at a base price of Rs. 20 lakh for the 2023 IPL season. The franchise showed confidence in his capabilities, but Yadav failed to deliver as he remained injured through the season. He played his first game in the 2024 season and has already taken the league by storm. What makes him different from others is his pace and his control over his fast bowling. Not everyone can bowl a 150+ delivery, like he does. Also, one thing that shall be noted is that he knows how to use his strength, he just doesn’t come and hit the turf, instead, he sets his field in a manner that gets him wickets.

Even legendary fast bowlers are impressed by his talent and his temperament. Brett Lee, Dale Steyn, Kevin Pieterson, Tom Moody, and Harsha Bhogle all praised this youngest by dropping tweets on constant praise. Interestingly, Brett Lee even said that Yadav can hit 3–4 Kmph more and get to the illustrious mark of bowling at upwards of 160 Kmph, a dream that every fast bowler wishes to fulfil. All the former athletes believe that Mayank has what it takes to join the elite club of fast bowling and be an important player for the Indian Cricket Team in the future. 

Read More: Fastest Bowlers in Cricket History

Mayank Yadav’s domestic Cricket Career:

Mayank Vadav hasn’t had a very long career but has the potential to play for the country, and under the right guidance, he can excel and improve more. His stats in his short domestic career are as follows:

Mayank Yadav's performance in domestic cricket career is young and his stats showcase that. He has only played 1 first-class cricket match and has picked up 2 wickets. In List A matches, Yadav has picked up 34 wickets at a remarkable average of 21.55, with a best figure of 4/47. His T20 record is even more impressive, with 15 wickets at an exceptional bowling average of 14.26 and a best figure of 3/20.

Mayank Yadav and Umran Malik - The Next Fast Bowling Pair for India?

Credit: Hindustan Times

Mayank Yadav is young and developing and still has a long way to go, both in his domestic career and his IPL career. Besides, he can form a formidable express fast bowling partnership with Umran Malik. Umran Malik is another express fast bowler who even got a chance to represent India at the highest stage. Let’s look at the fastest deliveries in the IPL, which will give us an idea of how impressive these younguns have been. 

Fastest Balls in IPL History:

Both Mayank and Umran Malik are already on the list of the fastest balls in the IPL. Umran Malik bowled his fastest ball in IPL 2022 at 157.0 kmph just second behind Lockie Ferguson's 157.3 kmph. Mayank Yadav, too, is very close at 156.7 kmph which shows how much talent these two bowlers have. Both are still very young and have a long way to go before they become India’s frontline pace bowlers. Not only just the skills, both also have to work rigorously on their fitness and remain injury free to make the most of their abilities. But for bowling fast well, you need a proper high quality leather ball that helps you in learning swing bowling and gain control. Grab ZAP's high-quality leather cricket balls and dominate the game just like Mayank Yadav. 

Also Read: Fast Bowling Gym Workouts | Cricket Injuries

Conclusion:

India is producing some of the best youngsters and the IPL is one of the major reasons why. The next generation of players like Mayank Yadav, Umran Malik, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anuj Rawat, Tilak Verma can do well and be the next bunch of super stars for the Indian Cricket Team. It's only time and we'll get to see some more player performing at the highest and soon be a part of the men in blue.