IND vs ZIM T20Is | ‘Two-year gap was challenging as I was just 22 years old’: Mayank Yadav on absence from international cricket

India pacer Mayank Yadav celebrates the wicket of Zimbabwe’s Dion Myers in Harare on Thursday. Pic/BCCI

India pacer Mayank Yadav has described the two-year injury-enforced absence from international cricket as the most difficult phase of his young career, admitting that battling repeated setbacks at the age of 22-23 tested him mentally.

Playing his first game for India since October 2024, against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday, the injury-prone speedster cranked up serious pace to return figures of 2-18 in India's seven-wicket win.

He said the dream of representing the country kept him going during the difficult rehabilitation. "It was very difficult. The two-year gap was very challenging for me as a person... I was only 22-23 years old at that time, so that always affected me that I had to go through so much at such a young age," Mayank said at the post-match press conference.

"But at the same time, the motivation to play for the country is every player's childhood dream. That was the motivation for me - to come back for the country and perform," Mayank added.

The Delhi speedster said the conditions in Harare suited his style of bowling. "I had heard a lot about Zimbabwe, that there is good help for the fast bowlers here. This is my first time playing in Harare and it felt great. I was getting a lot of help from the wicket and that helped me contribute," he said.

21
No. of months since Mayank Yadav played his last T20I for India - against Bangladesh on October 12, 2024

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever