Mayank Yadav in IPL 2025 (Source:@LSGfam,x.com)
Lucknow Super Giants’ rising pace star Mayank Yadav has been ruled out of IPL 2025, marking yet another injury setback in what is quickly becoming a concerning pattern for the young speedster.
The 22-year-old, who had become the talk of the town after clocking a record 156.7 kmph in IPL 2024, has now suffered his third injury in the span of just 12 months.
It is important to note that Mayank Yadav missed the first half of IPL 2025 while recovering from a back injury but returned to action briefly and played two matches for LSG. However, he failed to impress, while notably failing to touch the 150 kmph mark.
LSG Accused Of Rushing Mayank Yadav To IPL 2025
However, it is not just the injury that has caught attention, but the manner in which it was managed. According to Times of India, an official close to the developments has accused the LSG franchise and the National Cricket Academy’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) of mishandling Yadav’s injury rehabilitation.
The official alleged that the CoE rushed Mayank Yadav back into competitive cricket without adequately testing his body under full-intensity conditions.
“For a bowler who had such a long absence from the game, it's surprising that it took the CoE just 10-12 sessions to give him a green signal. One-third of those sessions were at a reduced intensity and he started bowling at 80-85% only towards the end of March," the official told Times Of India.
“You get a true picture only when you operate at full tilt and then take enough time to assess how the body is responding to the increased workload. That workload is gradually increased to observe and assess how the body is reacting to different levels of intensity. With Mayank, it looked like mere boxes were ticked," the official added.
LSG Unlikely To Retain Mayank Yadav
Sources also revealed that internal discussions within the LSG camp further strained the situation. After noticing a drop in his pace and intensity during practice sessions and matches, the coaching staff reportedly questioned him about his fitness and preparation.
“There was a discussion at LSG about this. Mayank was asked about his drop in pace and non-match days activities. He told them that he is giving his best but not able to go beyond and for the non-match day workload, he informed them about his routine which has been going on since the rehab at the CoE. The timing of the decision and the discussions during that meeting made it clear that they had lost trust in him and are unlikely to retain him for the next edition," the said source added.
The source went on to suggest that the tone of these discussions and the subsequent decision to sideline him indicated that LSG might not retain him for the 2026 season.
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