The Indian cricket team is set to face England in a five-match T20 series starting from January 22. The squad for the series has been announced, with Suryakumar Yadav leading the team and Axar Patel as vice-captain. Veteran pacer Mohammed Shami also makes his comeback to the squad after 14 months away.
Why is Mayank Yadav absent from the squad?
Despite his impressive performance in IPL 2024, where he enchanted everyone with his speed and terrorized batsmen, Mayank Yadav, unfortunately, remains injured and is not included against England. The right-arm fast bowler made his debut in last year's Bangladesh series, capturing four wickets with an economy of 6.91 over three matches.
Following that series, Mayank has been sidelined due to a back issue and has been away from cricketing action. He has been undergoing rehab at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for the past few months. Notably, he is not among Delhi's probable players for the Ranji match against Saurashtra, indicating his struggle to regain fitness.
In IPL 2024, the 6 feet 1-inch pacer lit up the tournament with his sensational bowling, frequently crossing the 150 KMPH mark. Mayank aced both speed and precision, marking his territory with an astonishing 156.7 KMPH delivery—the fastest by any Indian bowler in that season.
Source: aajtak
During the IPL 2024 season, Mayank picked up seven wickets over four matches for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) with an impressive average of 12.14 and an economy rate of 6.98. Unfortunately, his season was cut short due to injury. He had to leave the field mid-game against Gujarat Titans on April 7, 2024, after bowling just one over due to a muscle strain. Although he made a brief return for a match against the Mumbai Indians on April 30, a side strain kept him from playing further matches for LSG.
Mayank's injury troubles LSG
Post IPL 2024, Mayank Yadav has only played three matches combining domestic and international cricket. Although his IPL performance raised expectations of him being a long-term asset for India, his frequent injuries have been a major setback. Despite rapid bowling capability earning him a fast bowling contract from the BCCI, he hasn't lived up to those expectations due to injuries.
Bowlers exceeding 150 KMPH often face higher injury risks, which has been the fate of this fast-paced bowler. His injury-riddled journey has seemingly derailed his career so far; he has played only one first-class match for Delhi, taking two wickets, along with 34 wickets in 17 List-A matches and 23 wickets in 17 T20 games.
Despite his injury woes, Lucknow Super Giants retained faith in Mayank Yadav, retaining him for INR 11 crores before IPL 2025. Should he fail to participate fully in the upcoming IPL season, it might spell trouble for LSG. His injuries also kept him entirely out of the IPL seasons of 2022 and 2023.
On their India tour, England will start with a five-match T20 series, beginning on January 22 in Kolkata. This will be followed by a three-match ODI series. The Champions Trophy will also be in the same format, serving as a practice for both teams. The first ODI will take place on February 6 in Nagpur.
India's T20 Squad against England:
Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (Vice-captain), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper).
England's India Tour
First T20 - January 22 - Kolkata Second T20 - January 25 - Chennai Third T20 - January 28 - Rajkot Fourth T20 - January 31 - Pune Fifth T20 - February 2 - Mumbai First ODI - February 6 - Nagpur Second ODI - February 9 - Cuttack Third ODI - February 12 - Ahmedabad
