Mayank Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah (Agency Pic) Mayank Yadav has opened up about a major shift in his approach to fitness and recovery after battling multiple injuries, admitting he used to neglect his body before surgery forced him to rethink everything. The 23-year-old fast bowler, who represents Lucknow Super Giants, has gone through a difficult phase that started with an injury during IPL 2024, followed by serious back problems that kept him out for the rest of the 2025 season. He is now gearing up for a comeback after completing his rehabilitation at the Center of Excellence in Bengaluru. Reflecting on his journey, Mayank acknowledged how drastically his mindset changed after the surgery. “After the surgery, everything changed for me. I never took care of myself before. Whenever I had to do a recovery session, I avoided it and neglected many aspects. But after the surgery, I paid a lot of attention to recovery, nutrition and sleep. The more I respect my body, the more my body respects me on the field,” he said on JioStar’s ‘IPL Today Live. During his time at the National Cricket Academy, Mayank found valuable advice from Jasprit Bumrah, who underwent a similar procedure. The young pacer described Bumrah as a mentor during the recovery phase. “When I was rehabbing at NCA, Bumrah bhaiya was also there. I have a very good bond with him. He is like a teacher to me. He also had the same operation, the same scenario,” he said. “Bumrah bhaiya shared his experience of coming back after surgery and what to watch out for. He told me how the body will be during recovery, how it will react. Sometimes it will feel good, sometimes not. Whenever we talk on phone or on messages, he shares his experience as much as possible,” he added. Mayank, who recorded the fastest delivery by an Indian during IPL 2024, also spoke about when he first realized his ability to mix at extreme pace. “When I first came to the IPL, our coaches measured our bowling speed with a speed gun. That’s when I found out that I have this talent, I have this gift. So now I have to respect that,” he said. He also admitted the physical and mental problems associated with fast bowling. “With fast bowling, things are always a bit ossified, whether you can handle it or not. There’s a lot of stress on the body, physically and mentally.” Tracing his love of pace back to his childhood, Mayank said he always had a penchant for fast bowling rather than spin. “When I was playing on the street, I couldn’t bowl, so I used to just bowl fast. My craze for fast bowling started from my childhood. My father also showed me a lot of fast bowling videos.” “Mostly when India played in South Africa, I used to watch a lot of those matches. I really liked two of their pacers, our current bowling coach Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn. They gave me the madness of mixing fast,” he said.
