Was Mayank Set To Play For India? Coach Makes Big Claim After IPL Debut

Mayank Yadav was an unknown commodity in the world cricket, until he made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) against Punjab Kings on Saturday. The Delh-born pacer announced his arrival in the IPL 2024 with a sensational display of pace bowling that saw the youngster delivering the fastest ball of this year’s competition. During the match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Lucknow on Saturday, Mayank seemed unfazed as his 155.8 kmph scorcher left Shikhar Dhawan in a spot of bother. The 21-year-old eventually ended up taking three crucial wickets as Lucknow Super Giants registered their first win of IPL 2024.

Now, Mayank’s coach, Devender Sharma, has claimed that the pacer was considered for a place in India’s Test squad for the recently-concluded Test series against England.

Speaking to RevSportz, Devender suggested that chief selector Ajit Agarkar wanted to see Mayank bowl before selecting him. However, he was sidelined at that time due to an injury.

“He was very sad, nearly broken. Who would want to give away the chance to impress the chief selector and play for India? I pray to god that he keeps rising and stays fit. He is a very good and strongly built kid. He has an athletic body. He is very hard-working and has the ability to serve India for long. He has a good head and that is what is most important,” Devender told RevSportz.

Devender, who runs the prestigious Sonnet Club, also revealed that Rishabh Pant and Sourav Ganguly wanted Mayank to join Delhi Capitals. He also added that Gujarat Titans Ashish Nehra was also interested in the pacer.

For the unversed, Mayank was bought by LSG for Rs 20 lakh ahead of IPL 2022. However, he did not a single game that season.

The susbsequent season, he was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.

Mayank had first caught the limelight during the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2021. On his tournament debut, he bowled a maiden in the 49th over to help Delhi defend 12 off the last 12 balls against Haryana.

(With PTI Inputs)