Mayank Yadav: From hearing tales of Curtly Ambrose from his father to idolising Dale Steyn, and being known as ‘helmet pe maarne waale bowler’ in Delhi circuit

“I shared with him a story of Ambrose. Tujhe pata hai usse log darte kyu tey? kyunki wo sar pe daalta tha, tujhe darana hai batsmen ko toh wahi karna hoga (You know why he was feared because he used to hit them on their heads. If you want to put that fear in their minds you must start doing the same),” Prabhu rewinds to that little big moment to The Indian Express.

Over his teenage years, Mayank became the most fearsome pacer in Delhi and is named as “sar pe maarne wala bowler( Who hits on the head).” On Saturday, even as he was harassing the batsmen, the former pacer Brett Lee would tweet: “India has found its fastest bowler. Raw pace. Very impressive.”

Mayank Yadav of the Lucknow Super Giants bowled the fastest ball of the IPL 2024. (PHOTO: LSG via X)

“General life mey bhi mujhe speed pasand hai (I am fascinated with speed in life in general). I love rockets, jets and superbikes. Speed gives me a thrill,” Mayank would say at the end of the game.

The speedster who had clocked 153kmph in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was on the selectors’s radar for the recent Test series against England as Mayank was supposed to get fit by the end of January from his side strain. A disappointed Mayank had shared his thoughts with this newspaper then, saying “Mai ek pair pe khel jata agar mai 60 per cent bhi ready hota (I would have played on one leg if my body would have been 60 per cent fit).”

Mayank’s love for fast bowling had started as a taunt by his father at their home in West Delhi’s Motinagar, a few kilometres from where Virat Kohli grew up. And it involved two great fast bowlers: Ambrose and Dale Steyn. While Yadav sr was a fan of the Antiguan, the son liked the South African Steyn.

“Muhje Ambrose aur Walsh kaafi pasand they (I used to love Ambrose and Walsh),” the father Prabhu Yadav tells The Indian Express. “Ambrose more because of his pace and the way he used to bounce the batsmen. I used to keep telling him their stories.”

Mayank was a big fan of Dale Steyn and as someone who hated spending time at home watching cricket, he would only see if the South African was playing.

“Was your Ambrose used to be as good as Steyn? He used to ask this and we developed a small rivalry on who is better, Ambrose or Steyn,” Prabhu Yadav recalls.

Spotted by Rishabh Pant’s coach Tarak Sinha

Raw pace and accuracy have been standout aspects of Yadav’s bowling on his IPL debut and even Shikhar Dhawan, who gave him his List A debut for Delhi, found it difficult to negotiate him. Mayank’s rise in the game has been quick, as he has never played U-14 and U-16 cricket for Delhi but the late Tarak Sinha, who was also the coach of Rishabh Pant, kept pushing the boy.

LSG pacer Mayank Yadav rocked Punjab Kings on his IPL 2024 debut.

“Ustaad ji (Tarak Singha) kisi ko ek nazar dekh lete tey bas who kaafi tha. jo Rishabh ke saath hua wahi Mayank ke saath hua (Tarak sir has this knack of spotting talent with just a quick glance; be it Rishabh or Mayank),” says Devender Sharma, who now runs the Sonnet Club.

Devender recalled how ahead of his U-19 trials for Delhi in 2020, Tarak Sinha was upset with Mayank as he had declined the offer from Services to play him in their team. “He was not able to make it into the Delhi side and Services was giving him a job and a promise that he would get to play all the three formats, but Mayank didn’t take the offer,” says Devender.

But Mayank would promise the celebrated coach that he would make it from Delhi. Unfortunately, Sinha died in the second wave of Covid in November 2021, and a month later Mayank made his Delhi debut in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh. With 12 needed off the last two overs, Yadav bowled a maiden in the 49th over to seal the game.

“I ran away after the Services guys told me that I was selected. I was not even giving my 50 per cent but three or four bouncers I bowled, they were impressed. But I wanted to play for Delhi. Sir mai Delhi ka ladka hun aur yahi se khelna tha (I am a Delhi boy and I wanted to play for Delhi). Tarak sir was really angry,” recalled Mayank.

Mayank’s father Prabhu Yadav gets emotional while talking about the role Tarak Sinha has played in his son’s career.

“Bhagwan hai Tarak sir (He is a god). One year, my business was not doing well. In the summer vacation, Sonnet used to organise a camp and the fee was Rs 65,000. I had requested Devender ji that I would pay it later and he had informed Ustaad ji about it. I had Rs 20,000 with me and the moment I opened my wallet, Sinha Saab came and took it from me and threw it. ‘Is saal ke fees meri taraf se (This year’s fees is from my side). I will never forget his words” said Prabhu Yadav.

In his post-game chat, Mayank acknowledged that he needs to improve his fitness. “In two years I have suffered three major injuries. I missed the IPL last year due to injury, and missed Ranji Trophy this year as well. I need to work on that,” he said. If he stays injury-free, it won’t be long before Ambrose and Steyn watch and rave about him.