IPL 2026: Mayank Yadav’s Recovery Boosts LSG After ₹11 Crore Retention Gamble

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) took a big gamble before IPL 2026 by retaining fast bowler Mayank Yadav, who has been troubled by injuries. He played only five competitive matches in the last one year, but LSG still decided to keep him and paid ₹11 crore for his retention. Mayank doesn’t have the volume of matches under his belt. Despite making his competitive debut in 2021, the 23-year-old has played just 37 matches in his career. This includes 6 IPL games for LSG and 3 T20Is for India.

Mayank Yadav’s Recovery Gives LSG Hope Ahead of IPL 2026

But that risk could turn out to be a good decision. Mayank Yadav had back surgery in June 2025 and was expected to take 6 to 8 months to recover. Thankfully for LSG, his recovery is going well. He has been doing his rehab at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. His initial return date was placed around the second leg of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season, which commences on January 22. Mayank’s on schedule for this time frame. He has been bowling at 90% intensity. His workload is being managed. Currently, he’s delivering about 18 overs per week.

“Mayank Yadav is progressing well through his rehabilitation and has successfully achieved bowling at 90 per cent intensity, with a current workload of 18 overs per week. He has also demonstrated significant improvements in strength and conditioning, enabling him to approach the maximal fitness levels required for pace bowling,” a BCCI official told PTI.

It is expected that Mayank will start bowling at full pace next week. Delhi are set to play Chhattisgarh on January 22, and if everything goes well, Mayank could play his first match since December 2023.

“Over the forthcoming weeks, he is expected to progress to bowling at 100 per cent intensity, alongside the integration of high-intensity fielding activities, subject to ongoing symptom tolerance and monitoring,” the official added.

LSG full squad for IPL 2026: Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Shahbaz Ahamad, Arshin Kulkarni, Ayush Badoni, Digvesh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, M Siddharth, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohammad Shami (traded in), Arjun Tendulkar (traded in), Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Mukul Choudhary, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Josh Inglis (wk)