The pacer will not be available for a major chunk of the league stage.
Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) beginning of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will not be a smooth one because of too many injuries and a talented squad that is not deep. The majority of their injuries are in their pace-bowling department with last season’s pace sensation Mayank Yadav absent before the start of the season. In his place, LSG have roped in young pacer Prince Yadav for their opening match against Delhi Capitals (DC), who had finished top wicket-taker of Delhi in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Prince, despite possessing the ability to move the new and old ball, doesn’t have the scorching pace of Mayank who had hit the 150 kmph mark last season. He also grabbed two Player of the Match awards.
Mayank, who had made his international debut against Bangladesh last year, has been ruled out of the opening clash against DC due to a toe injury. According to LSG head coach Justin Langer, the 22-year-old will be available near the business end of the tournament.
Mayank’s absence will be a huge blow for LSG as they had shelled out INR 11 crore to retain the speedster ahead of the auction.
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In the auction, LSG had refused to invest a lot in their fast-bowling department. It has proved to be a huge problem even before the season began.
The Rishabh Pant-led side will be without the services of left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan. He has been ruled out of IPL 2025 due to a tear in his anterior cruciate ligament. The likes of Avesh Khan and Akash Deep are also recovering from their respective injuries. They are likely to be available after the first three games of the season.
LSG had brought in Mumbai’s star allrounder Shardul Thakur as a last-minute replacement for Mohsin. Delhi pacer Digvesh Rathi has been picked in the playing XI against DC to replace Avesh.
LSG, who reached the playoffs in their first season in 2022, have struggled in the subsequent seasons. They finished seventh in the table last year with seven wins and as many losses. Consequently, they let go of their skipper KL Rahul who joined DC for an auction price of INR 14 crore.
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