Mayank Yadav emerged as IPL 2024 surprise star. He bowled almost regularly at 150 kph, and the fast deliveries surprised a lot of cricket fans and pundits. He, however, suffered an abdominal injury while playing his fourth match of the season and had to stop after that. Though he played very few matches, the selectors were impressed and picked him for India's three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in October. In the T20I series, the 22-year-old continued his good form, bowling at 145 kmph and taking four wickets. Unfortunately, he sustained injury again and has not played since then. Even with such a long period of absence, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) did believe in him as they retained him for INR 11 crore ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2025. The question now is whether Mayank would play in the IPL 2025. The LSG side is in constant touch with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, updating on his progress. Franchise mentor Zaheer Khan, too, has been monitoring the developments closely. They are not hurrying him back onto the field. He wants Mayank to be good enough to bowl at high speeds without aggravating the injuries. Also Read | Virat Kohli to Captain RCB in IPL 2025? Official Speaks Out On Tuesday (Feb 4) in Lucknow, Zaheer Khan told reporters that: “We’ve had some interesting conversations around his roadmap to recovery and fitness with NCA, so we’re working with them. We hope for their support as well, them buying into the philosophy of really looking after a youngster, because he’s not only important for LSG, he’s important for Indian cricket as well.” Zaheer believes that Mayank needs the right environment where he can play regularly without the need for long breaks because of injuries. According to him, proper management of Mayank's workload will be the key to his long-term success. Mayank Yadav's Stats in IPL 2024 Season Matches Innings Wickets Economy Best Figures 2024 4 4 7 6.98 3/14