Former West Indies fast bowler and commentator Ian Bishop has come to the defense of fellow fast bowler Mayank Yadav following a spate of negative comments on social media over his expensive return to the Indian Premier League. Bishop described the criticism as “scary” and expressed hope that the pacer would remain fit for the rest of the tournament.
Yadav conceded 56 runs in his four overs wicketless in a relatively low key encounter between Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium. RR won the game by 40 runs, another blow to LSG’s playoff hopes.
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“It’s scary to see the negative comments about Mayank Yadav today. The kid almost lost his career and livelihood at 21. Just seeing him play again is a huge boost. The fact that he’s hit 150km/h again is a miracle. At 23, just pray for him to stay fit. The check will come,” Bishop wrote on his social media account.
The post comes in response to consistent trolling of the fast bowler over his injury setbacks. The 23-year-old has been struggling with a severe stress fracture in his lower back, which ruled him out for most of the previous Indian Premier League season and the opening part of the current campaign.
“Stop exaggerating the concerns raised about Mayank Yadav’s ongoing injuries. The guy was already making a million dollars when he was injured. He was also pursuing a commentary career like recently retired IPL players do. No need to get upset over well-intentioned criticism,” one user responded to Bishop’s post on X. Ian Bishop defends Mayank Yadav (amid recurring injury issues)
Ahead of Wednesday’s game against RR, his first in 353 days, Mayank last featured for the Lucknow franchise in May 2025 against Punjab Kings where he went wicketless conceding 60 runs in his four overs. The New Delhi-born bowler played just two matches last season, picking up two wickets against Mumbai Indians before being sidelined again due to injury.
The 156.7 kmph speedster initially grabbed attention after a sensational debut in IPL 2024, but has since struggled with injuries after pushing his body to the limit. The rustiness of a long absence from high-level competition was evident as he proved costly against RR.
However, the silver lining was Mayank’s sustained pace as he hit 149 kmph several times during his spell. Although it took until his last crossing to break the 151 km/h mark, he successfully did it. More importantly, he seemed to reach those speeds without having to exert excessive effort in his delivery.
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Published on:
23 Apr 2026 13:35 IST
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