T20 World Cup 2024: The 17th season of the Tata Indian Premier League is in full flow but a much bigger and mega event is right around the corner as the 2024 T20 World Cup is set to start in the month of June after the conclusion of IPL 2024. This year’s mega event will be conducted in the USA and the West Indies and India’s squad for this year’s World Cup is expected to be announced in the final week of April.
IPL 2024 is going to act as a preparatory ground for the upcoming T20 World Cup and the players will be looking to give their mighty best in the T20 league so that they can cement their spots in the Men in Blue’s squad for the T20 World Cup. In view of this, Lucknow Super Giants seamer Mayank Yadav has taken the world by storm with his sheer pace and a perfect execution of line and length.
He made his IPL debut this year and he has performed exceptionally well in the two matches he has featured in so far. In the first match against the Punjab Kings, the LSG pacer took three wickets which included the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma. His figures read 3-27 on his debut game but he didn’t stop there as he produced yet another fascinating bowling display against RCB with figures of 3-14 next to his name.
He got the better of the Aussie duo of Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green with sheer pace. Both of these players are Australians and have a reputation of hammering the best fast bowlers around the world but they too didn’t have any answer against the speed and line and length of Mayank Yadav. The 21 year old later dismissed Anuj Rawat and executed yet another perfect display for the Lucknow Super Giants. Mayank is definitely knocking on the door of the selectors with his excellent displays and if he performs consistently throughout the entirety of IPL 2024, he will make his case even stronger to get selected in India’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
The 21 year old has already managed to pick up six wickets in just his first two games in the IPL and he’s definitely a one to watch out for. He caught the eye of the selectors when he bowled at a consistent speed of 150+ in the 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was on the radar of the selectors for the test series against England but he didn’t get selected as he suffered a side strain.
In an interview with the Indian Express Mayank Yadav said, “I was ready to play on a single leg if I was even 60 percent fit”. His main issue is his fitness. He missed out on last year’s IPL due to injury and he even missed the entire season of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 due to his injury issues.
The 21 year old is aware that he needs to work on his fitness and after the match against the Punjab Kings he said, “I suffered three major injuries in the last two years. Because of those injuries, I wasn’t able to participate in IPL 2023 and I even missed the entire 2023-24 Ranji Trophy due to injury issues. I know I need to work on my fitness and I will work hard to stay fit and help my country win matches with my bowling”.
If Mayank Yadav overcomes his injury issues, he has the potential to become a World Class bowler for the Men in Blue and it remains what the future holds for him.