Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) took a big risk prior to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. They choose to retain injury-prone Mayank Yadav. The express pacer had played just 5 competitive matches in the last 12 months. But LSG decided to retain him for INR 11 crore.
Mayank doesn’t have the volume of matches under his belt. Despite making his competitive debut in 2021, the 23-year-old has played just 37 matches in his career. This includes 6 IPL games for LSG and 3 T20Is for India.
But that risk might just pay off. Mayank had undergone back surgery in June 2025. His estimated recovery time was 6 to 8 months. Luckily for LSG, he’s right on track. The speedster has been under rehabilitation at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Mayank Yadav almost ready for a comeback
His initial return date was placed around the second leg of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season, which commences on January 22. Mayank’s on schedule for this time frame. He has been bowling at 90% intensity. His workload is being managed. Currently, he’s delivering about 18 overs per week.
“Mayank Yadav is progressing well through his rehabilitation and has successfully achieved bowling at 90 per cent intensity, with a current workload of 18 overs per week. He has also demonstrated significant improvements in strength and conditioning, enabling him to approach the maximal fitness levels required for pace bowling,” a BCCI official told PTI.
It’s expected that in the coming week, Mayank will be bowling at full tilt. Delhi will play Chhattisgarh on January 22, and if all goes well, Mayank might be featuring for them for the first time since December 2023.
“Over the forthcoming weeks, he is expected to progress to bowling at 100 per cent intensity, alongside the integration of high-intensity fielding activities, subject to ongoing symptom tolerance and monitoring,” the official added.
LSG full squad for IPL 2026
Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Nicholas Pooran (wk)✈️, Mitchell Marsh✈️, Aiden Markram✈️, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke✈️, Shahbaz Ahamad, Arshin Kulkarni, Ayush Badoni, Digvesh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, M Siddharth, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohammad Shami (traded in), Arjun Tendulkar (traded in), Wanindu Hasaranga✈️, Anrich Nortje✈️, Mukul Choudhary, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Josh Inglis (wk)✈️
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