‘Wrap Mayank Yadav in cotton wool … he is an even better bowler in longer formats,’ say former Delhi coaches

“Wrap Mayank in cotton wool. In India, we don’t get such raw pace,” smiles Gursharan. He adds: “When I saw him the first time at the nets, his work ethic took me back two decades. He reminded me a lot of Ishant. I was Delhi’s U-17 coach when Ishant burst onto the scene. Tall, slim, bowling lots of overs in the nets, all those traits are in Mayank as well.”

MAYANK YADAV – THE FAST BOWLING BEAST. 🤯🔥pic.twitter.com/79okntJ8ix

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 2, 2024

Gursharan throws in a word of caution for Mayank, who has been prone to injuries. “He needs to strengthen his legs because he bowls 150 plus. For that he needs to work on his lower body a bit. He can take a cue from Mohammed Shami, the way he has worked on his legs after the knee surgery is remarkable. He is still 21 and I guess once he is in the India set up, you will see he will be a different beast. ” says Singh.

Parvinder Awana, who picked Mayank for Delhi U-19, when he was the bowling coach of the colts and then took him under his wings in the senior team says there should be a laid out program for Mayank, like Bumrah had after his back injury.

“He could be a great asset for the next decade, we shouldn’t overuse him. He needs to be handled carefully. There should be a certain plan for him, just like Bumrah has,” says Awana, who has played two T20Is for India.

Change in action

Gursharan and Awana have noticed that the Delhi bowler has tweaked his action a little.

“He has changed his action slightly. Earlier his head used to tilt a lot towards the left. He has also worked on his body. He is looking fitter and I don’t think there will be more injuries now. He is looking in fine rhythm and the follow-through also has improved” says Gursharan.

Awana says the three injuries in two years have helped Mayank understand his body better.

“He is injury-prone like any fast bowler. But he has worked on his action, the run up, and loading, his release point is more towards the batsmen, that’s why his bouncers are so difficult to face.

𝘕𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥.🔥 pic.twitter.com/HX1E1nSMtD

— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) April 2, 2024

“He was having trouble with injuries for the past two or three years. He has started understanding his body a bit more. He has overcome all those injuries,” says Awana.

The two matches

In his two appearances in the IPL, Mayank has bagged player of the match for his exploits. In eight overs that he has bowled, he picked up six wickets and has given away only 41 runs. His pace left the likes of Brett Lee, Ian Bishop and Dale Steyn in complete awe but not Gursharan and Awana.

Parvinder Awana shares a scorecard of a Cooch Behar Trophy (2019-20 season), where the then 17-year-old Mayank blew away Madhya Pradesh with his raw pace.

“He is a way better bowler in longer format cricket. He got injured on his Ranji Trophy debut against Maharashtra but was bowling rockets. In U-19, I can recall one of his spells against MP at Stephens. He bowled an eight-over spell (7.5-4-10-6), picked up six wickets and I overheard few of the MP batters muttering ‘yaar ball dikha hi nahi (I was not able to see the ball),'” laughs Awana.

Lucknow Super Giants’s Mayank Yadav celebrates after taking the wicket of Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Cameron Green during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 T20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants, at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. (PTI Photo)

Gursharan talks about Mayank’s debut for Delhi’s senior team in Vijay Hazare Trophy (2021-22 season), where Haryana needed 12 runs in two overs and Mayank bowled a maiden in the 49th over.

“I can never forget that over he bowled at the Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh. He was playing his first match and he stepped up. It tells you about the character of this boy,” says Singh.

Intelligent and different from Umran

Shikhar Dhawan and Faf du Plessis, the captain of Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, respectivey, had admitted that they lost the game because of Mayank’s fiery spells. “His pace outsmarted us,” said Dhawan, after Punjab’s 21-run loss against Lucknow. Faf has lauded Mayank’s consistency. He said: “His pace was great but more impressive was his ability to control length and bowl with discipline. It’s pace combined with accuracy.”

Gursharan echoes Faf’s view and says Mayank’s high-arm action and accuracy make him more potent than Umran Malik, who too had burst onto the scene a couple of years ago because of his pace.

“He is a very intelligent bowler. He is yet to unleash his slower ones. Wait till he starts bowling those. His wide yorkers are gold dust. He has not bowled in the slog overs yet but you will see once he bowls the 18th and 20th overs,” says Singh.

Awana considers Mayank more skilful than Umran Malik

“Umran aur Mayank mey fark hai (There is a difference in both of them). Mayank is more consistent. He is a very intelligent bowler. He is not someone, who will just go and bowl fast. He is more skilful,”says Awana.

THE RECORD BREAKING 155.8KMPH DELIVERY…!!!

– MAYANK YADAV ON DEBUT SHINING. 💥pic.twitter.com/KmHJCHDZWf

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 30, 2024

“I watched the Lucknow game only because I got to know that Mayank is playing. When Shikhar and Bairstow were batting, Punjab were cruising and I was just waiting when Pooran will give the ball to Mayank. Mujhe malum tha ye match fasaa dega (I knew he would take the match away from Punjab). He is hitting those good lengths consistently, that’s why he is dangerous to face,” he adds.

Glenn Maxwell has heaped praise on the pace sensation and explained how he couldn’t prepare himself despite watching Lucknow’s previous match.

“I thought it was really impressive. He hurried on a few of the Punjab batters and I certainly did a little bit of homework before coming up against him. But it’s no use doing homework against someone until you actually see it coming out of the hand and have to try and pick up the length,” Maxwell said on ESPN’s Around the Wicket show.

“He has some real extra speed that you don’t really see a lot around world cricket at the moment. You see guys bowl pretty consistently around the 140 (kph) or high 140s. But to have mid-150s consistently in your arsenal is pretty formidable.”

Pick Mayank for T20WC and Australia tour

Parvinder Awana feels Mayank should be on the flight to the US and Caribbean, where the T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played.

“He should get the chance. If a batsman can be picked at the age of 18 and 19, then why not a bowler? He is at his peak. He is bowling fast, taking wickets. It doesn’t matter how many first-class matches and List A he has played, if he is troubling the likes of Bairstow, Maxwell, and Green in the IPL, then he is certainly good enough,” says Awana.

“If we have Bumrah with the new ball and in the death, then Mayank can be a menace in the middle overs.

“Ye kahi nahi rukne wala, extraordinary ko koi rok paaya hai aaj tak (He is not going to stop, you can’t hold back such cricketers for long). Mauka milna chahiye (He should get the chance),” says Awana.

Meanwhile, Gursharan wants Mayank to play a few India A game and wants the Delhi pacer in India’s Test squad for Border Gavaskar Trophy to be played in Australia.

“Mayank bowls well in four day cricket as well. He moves the ball both ways. When you are pitching the ball up at 145 and if it will move a little, the world’s best will be vulnerable. Cameron Green’s wicket was a classic Test cricket dismissal. His surprise element is his bouncer. It climbs on the batsman because it goes up after hitting a good length. It hurries the batsmen, you can’t duck his bouncers,” says Singh.