Who is Mayank Yadav, the 21-year-old domestic pacer who bowled the fastest ball of IPL 2024?

Mayank Yadav bowled with serious heat against Punjab Kings. The youngster also recorded the fastest ball in IPL 2024 till now, clocking 155.8 kph in his second over of the match.

 By Monojit Das Updated: Mar 31, 2024, 10:38 IST
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Over the years, IPL has been the platform for many exciting talents to show their worth. On Saturday (March 30), when Lucknow Super Giants unleashed the latest exciting talent of the IPL, everyone was in awe of his pace. Mayank Yadav, the 21-year-old fast bowler from Delhi, ripped apart Punjab Kings line-up with his raw pace and accuracy and won his team their first match of the season.

Mayank Yadav came in to bowl in the 10th over of the match. Punjab Kings were cruising at 88-0 in 9 overs and even a target of 200 was looking unchallenging for them. With two set world-class openers out there in the middle, Mayank started his spell under difficult circumstances. Even the commentators felt that it was a tough situation to bowl for the youngster.

Mayank conceded 10 runs in his first over but showed promise. Jonny Bairstow, a seasoned international batter was hurried into his strokes several times and found it tough to face him. Both Bairstow and Dhawan hit him for a boundary each but that didn't deter his confidence.

The 21-year-old quick broke the opening partnership in his next over when Bairstow made room and tried to hit him through the leg side. Mayank bowled into the pitch and found the top edge, which was taken by Stoinis running in from the deep. This was the start just the start of some exciting things to follow.

Mayank went on to dismiss Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma in his next two overs to derail Punjab's run-chase. In just the first ball of his second over, Mayank bowled a ball that was clocked at 155.8 kph. This was the fastest ball bowled till now in this year's IPL. He kept bowling over 145 kph on a regular basis in his non-stop spell of 4 overs, which tells us about his fitness levels. He finished with 3-27 in his four overs.

"There was the thought to mix up the pace initially but the wicket helped and the skipper told me to bowl gas," Mayank said in the post-match press conference.

"I've always heard from others there's nervousness in debuts but that goes away after the first ball. The debut wicket was the favourite. Coming off the injury last season was tough, I'd set my goal to debut at a young age but injuries were a setback," the youngster added.

Former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee also lauded Mayank Yadav and seemed excited with his raw pace.

Who is Mayank Yadav?

So, basically who is Mayank Yadav? Mayank Yadav, a teeraway fast bowler from Delhi, was signed by Lucknow Super Giants for his base price of INR 20 lakh in the IPL 2022 auction. LSG's assistant coach at that time, Vijay Dahiya, had spotted Mayank during a Vijay Hazare Trophy game. Yadav was benched for the whole season in IPL 2022. He suffered a torn hamstring injury and had to miss IPL 2023. Later, he was replaced by Arpit Guleria that season.

Before making his IPL debut on Saturday, Mayank Yadav picked up 5 wickets in 4 matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year and was Delhi's best bowler in the semifinal which they eventually lost. He picked up 6 wickets in 5 matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. 

Mayank also went on to play one Ranji Trophy game against Maharashtra in 2022, where he picked up two wickets. He was impressive in the Deodhar Trophy 2023, where he picked up 12 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 17.58. He has a fantastic List A record where he has picked up 34 wickets in just 17 games at an average of just 21.55. In T20 cricket, right-arm quick has 15 wickets in 11 games at an average of 14.26 and an outstanding economy of 6.48.

WATCH: 21-year-old domestic Indian pacer bowls 156kph delivery on IPL debut

After producing a Player of the Match performance against Punjab Kings, Mayank Yadav has now caught the eyeballs of many people and will have high expectations from now onwards. It will be interesting to see how the youngster deals with all the pressure and how he performs for the rest of the season.

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