Mayank Yadav has revealed that it was former India keeper Vijay Dahiya, who is the assistant coach at Lucknow Super Giants, who spotted him a couple of years ago when he was playing for Delhi in domestic cricket.
Dahiya met Mayank then and asked for his bowling videos to talk with LSG, the franchise that was launched in the IPL in 2022. The franchise was so impressed and excited by the prospect of Mayank’s pace and potential, with him being only 19 years old then, that LSG took care of him when he was laid low due to injuries in the last couple of years.
Mayank Yadav repaid the faith and investment that LSG made in him by winning them a game, after being behind, against Punjab Kings with a sensational display of high-pace bowling in Lucknow.
Making his debut in IPL 2024 on Saturday night at the Ekana stadium, Mayank Yadav blew away the LSG top-order with his high pace – he started off with a delivery of 147 KPH and cranked it up to 155.8 KPH, which is the second fastest delivery by an Indian bowler in the IPL in the past 11 seasons.
The speedster finished with figures of 3/29, his wickets including Bairstow, Prabhsimran, and Jitesh as Punjab Kings collapsed from 102/0 to 139/3 before Mohsin Khan, too, bounced a couple of batters out that effectively sealed Lucknow’s win.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Mayank Yadav credited Vijay Dahiya for spotting him and scouting him to LSG, who bought the Delhi seamer for only INR 20 lakh in the auction.
Mayank said, “I think it was 2 years back, before the mega auction when I was with Delhi for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It was a match against UP, and there our assistant coach, Vijay Dahiya, spotted me. He showed interest in me and asked for my videos.”
Mayank Yadav reveals his idol:
It is no surprise that Mayank Yadav idolizes the great Dale Steyn, one of the greatest ever pacers.
“There is only one fast bowler I look up to, and that’s Dale Steyn. I idolize him a lot,” he said.
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