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India's speedster Mayank Yadav opened up about the difficulties of his two-year international absence from international cricket, admitting that the long gap and the pressure of time made his comeback challenging.
Yadav was just 22 when he made his India debut in 2024. However, a string of injuries kept him sidelined for an extended period, forcing him to endure a challenging phase early in his career. The fast bowler marked his comeback in style, delivering a Player-of-the-Match performance in the first T20I against Zimbabwe on Thursday. "It was very difficult, especially the gap of two years was a challenge because age wasn't on my side. I was just 22-23 [years old]. I felt that I had to suffer so much at a young age. At the same time, the motivation to play for the country was always there. So I wanted to make a comeback and perform as I did before," Mayank, now just over a month past 24, said after picking up 2 for 18 in four overs in Harare as per ESPNcricinfo. In the opening match of the three-game series, India went in with a largely inexperienced pace attack. Prince Yadav, who had made his debut during the recent tour of the UK, had played only four T20Is before the contest, while Ashok Sharma was handed his international debut. Yadav himself had featured in just three matches for India, making all-rounder Shivam Dube, with 71 T20I appearances, the most experienced seamer in the line-up. Yadav highlighted the strong camaraderie among India's young fast bowlers, saying their conversations revolve around strategy rather than speed. Yadav said after bowling the opening over, he shared inputs with Prince Yadav and Ashok Sharma on exploiting the conditions, attacking the batters and sustaining pressure after a disciplined powerplay. "We don't talk a lot about pace, but we have a nice bond. I bowled the first over today, so I shared inputs with Prince and Ashok about the assistance I got and the better options to attack. We were in a very good situation after the first six overs. So the conversations were about how much more we can squeeze them, and what more we could bowl," he added. After restricting Zimbabwe to 125/7, India chased down the target with 40 balls to spare, securing their first T20I victory since their World Cup triumph earlier this year. The win also marked Shreyas Iyer's first victory as India's T20I captain after six defeats and one washout in his previous games in charge. (ANI)
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