'Mayank Yadav kicked his toe on the bed': LSG's hopes all but over, served dampener before IPL 2025 opener vs DC
LSG were served a dampener as fast bowler Mayank Yadav suffered a fresh injury blow which derailed his return to IPL.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will open their campaign in the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday against Delhi Capitals in Visakhapatnam. However, ahead of the game, LSG were served a dampener as fast bowler Mayank Yadav suffered a fresh injury blow which derailed his return to IPL.
Lucknow's pre-season has been hampered by injuries to four of its premier Indian fast bowlers: Mayank, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, and Akash Deep. In fact, Mohsin was ruled out of the season on Sunday as LSG named all-rounder Shardul Thakur as a replacement.
Mayank has been troubled by injuries since he stunned world cricket last IPL season with his ability to hit the speed of 150kph at will and also won the Player of the Match in his first two games. But while he was recovering from a back injury at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, with reports emerging last week hinting at his quick return to the league in the first half of April, LSG head coach Justin Langer told reporters on Sunday that he suffered a fresh injury. He will now only be available in the final week of the tournament.
What about Avesh and Akash?
Langer was, however, hopeful of a speedy return for Avesh (knee niggle) and Akash (back injury).
"Unfortunately, I think Mohsin sustained a small calf injury in his rehab. So, knowing that we had four guys out, we had to make that tough call on Mohsin. We think Avesh Khan will pass his right to play tomorrow morning through the NCA. So, if that's the case, then he'll be back sooner rather than later. Akash Deep is up and running, and bowling at about 90% now. I believe he's done his yo-yo test. So, he's really ticking off all the boxes."
LSG will kick off their season on Monday under new captain Rishabh Pant, who was roped in for a record price of INR 27 crore at the mega auction last year. He will be up against his former team - DC - in the opening game.
"Mayank, who everyone was very excited about last year, he was going quite well (coming back from a back injury), and he kicked his toe on the bed," Langer said. "He got an infection in his toe. It's put his rehab back about a week or two weeks. But he's up and running. We regularly see videos of him bowling. I saw a video of his yesterday. So, hopefully by the back end of the tournament, Mayank will be up and ready to go for us."
