LUCKNOW: The thrilling 12-run win over former champions Mumbai Indians on their home ground on Friday night has brought immense joy to the Lucknow Super Giants camp. There was more good news for LSG when head coach Justin Langer confirmed that speedster Mayank Yadav is bowling at “90 to 95 percent” and is close to making his long-awaited return to the IPL.
At the post-match press conference, he said, “I thought the 19th over by Shardul Thakur was outstanding. That really kept us in the game. And then obviously Avesh Khan — bowling those tight overs is something he prides himself on — finished off in style with an excellent final over.”
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Giving an update on Yadav, Langer said: “He’s working very hard at the NCA, and I saw some video of him bowling yesterday — he was bowling at about 90 to 95%. So, Mayank’s up and running, which is great for Indian cricket. For the IPL, we saw the impact he had last year. I don’t think there’s been a bowler in India who’s bowled faster than Mayank Yadav. And that’s why there’s so much talk about him.”
Langer added, “He’s up, he’s keen to get going, he bowled well in Bengaluru at the NCA. I think there are a couple of other bowlers at the NCA as well, and hopefully, the NCA — credit to them — have done a very good job. They’ve got Avesh back for us, they’ve got Akash Deep back for us, so we really appreciate the work they’re doing to get the boys back playing. Hopefully, now Mayank too.”
‘Pressure on Pant’
On the continued poor run of Rishabh Pant, Langer said, “I’ve got one job, and that’s to keep him smiling. When you come into a new franchise, very often you try too hard and there’s a lot of expectation. He’s the captain of the team, there’s high expectation, and with that often comes the pressure that none of us really understand. We’ll stay with him. We’ll keep him smiling, keep him relaxed—and when he comes good, my gosh. We’ve won 50% of our games so far and Rishabh hasn’t made many runs yet. Imagine when he does start making runs. I cannot wait to see it.”
