- Mayank Yadav calls a two-year injury layoff the toughest phase of his career.
- Speedster returns with a Player of the Match spell, figures of 2/18.
Father completes Govardhan Parikrama unaware of son’s comeback heroics.
Mayank Yadav calls a two-year injury layoff the toughest phase of his career.
Speedster returns with a Player of the Match spell, figures of 2/18.
Father completes Govardhan Parikrama unaware of son’s comeback heroics.
Fast bowler Mayank Yadav has opened up about the two-year, injury-forced layoff that kept him away from the India setup, calling it the hardest stretch of his career so far and admitting the constant setbacks weighed heavily on him during years that should have shaped his early rise.
Making his first appearance in national colours since October 2024, the pacer from Delhi announced his return in emphatic fashion, picking up figures of 2 for 18 across four overs against Zimbabwe in the series-opening T20I at Harare on Thursday.
He walked away with the Player of the Match award after removing Brian Bennett with the very first delivery of the game and keeping the pressure on with relentless pace throughout his spell.
“It was very difficult. The two-year gap was very challenging for me as a person. I was only 22-23 years old at that time, so that always affected me that I had to go through so much at such a young age,” Mayank said at the post-match press conference.
“It was very difficult. The two-year gap was very challenging for me as a person. I was only 22-23 years old at that time, so that always affected me that I had to go through so much at such a young age,” Mayank said at the post-match press conference.
“But at the same time, the motivation to play for the country is every player’s childhood dream. That was the motivation for me – to come back for the country and perform.”
While Mayank was busy troubling Zimbabwe’s batting line-up more than 7,000 kilometres away at the Harare Sports Club, his father, Prabhu Yadav, was undertaking the Govardhan Parikrama in Mathura, completely unaware of what was unfolding back home. The 24-year-old’s stunning opening delivery, a 149 kph thunderbolt, accounted for Bennett, the same batter who had rattled India with a blistering 97 during this year’s T20 World Cup.
Prabhu, who works at a factory in Okhla that manufactures sirens for ambulances and police vehicles, offered a quiet, humbling contrast to the roar his son was generating on the cricket field that same evening.
Speaking to TimesofIndia.com from Mathura shortly after finishing the 21-kilometre circuit around Govardhan Hill, Prabhu admitted he hadn’t even watched the game, having only reached Mathura the previous night before setting out on the sacred walk.
“Kaise daala? Maine toh match dekha tak nahi. Mai toh bas kal raat hi Mathura aa gaya tha, bas abhi Govardhan Bhagwaan ki parikrama kar ke waapis nikal raha hun (How did he bowl? I didn’t even watch the match. I only came to Mathura last night. I’ve just finished the Govardhan Bhagwan Parikrama and am now heading back),” he said.
Still catching his breath after the long trek, Prabhu said all he had prayed for was his son’s fitness and success, adding that the past two years had been genuinely tough on the young cricketer.
“Bas fit rahe, yahi maanga hai. Pichle do saal kaafi mushkil gaye hain bachhe ke (I have prayed for his fitness and success. The last two years have been really tough on the boy),” he added.
Mayank praised captain Shreyas Iyer for the trust he showed in his bowlers, saying he felt free to execute his own plans while still valuing the inputs Iyer offered during the game.
“I am playing under his captaincy for the first time,” he said.
“During the match, I felt he showed a lot of confidence in the bowlers. Whatever I wanted to bowl, he backed it, and whenever he gave advice, I felt very confident in following it. I felt very free playing under his captaincy.”
“During the match, I felt he showed a lot of confidence in the bowlers. Whatever I wanted to bowl, he backed it, and whenever he gave advice, I felt very confident in following it. I felt very free playing under his captaincy.”
He also credited Harare’s conditions for easing him back into international cricket, having heard beforehand that the pitches offered good assistance to fast bowlers.
“I had heard a lot about Zimbabwe, that there is good help for the fast bowlers here,” he said.
“This is my first time playing in Harare and it felt great. I was getting a lot of help from the wicket and I think that helped me contribute to the team.
“We don’t talk much about pace but we have a very good bond. Whatever help I got in my first over, I shared it with Ashok and Prince – what was the better option and how we could attack. We always have good conversations.”
Stories like Mayank’s tend to get reduced to a scoreline, two wickets, an economical spell, a Player of the Match trophy, but that undersells what actually happened in Harare.
This was a young fast bowler who spent two of his most crucial years of development fighting his own body rather than opposition batters, largely out of public view, far from headlines or highlight reels. T
he image of his father completing a religious pilgrimage unaware of his son’s comeback adds an unusually human layer to what could easily have been just another match report. It’s a reminder that behind every fast bowler chasing 150 kph, there’s usually a family quietly absorbing the anxiety of injuries, setbacks and uncertain returns alongside him.
Indian cricket has burned through promising quicks before by rushing their recovery or overusing them too soon. If there’s one takeaway from Thursday’s spell, it’s that patience, both from the player and the system around him, can still produce results worth waiting for.
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