In what has come as a massive blow to the Lucknow Super Giants, with just over 10 days left for IPL 2025, star pacer Mayank Yadav is likely to miss the first half of the tournament with a back injury, according to a report in ESPNCricinfo. 

According to the report, Mayank is recovering from a lumbar stress injury and has just begun bowling at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. He has been rehabilitating after getting injured after his India debut in the T20I series against Bangladesh five months ago.

BCCI has not set a particular date for Mayank’s return yet, but if he meets all the fitness parameters besides increasing his bowling workload, he can feature in the latter half of IPL 2025.

Mayank’s unavailability in the first half of IPL 2025 is a setback for Lucknow, who had retained him for Rs 11 crore ahead of the mega-auction.

It was a massive leap for Mayank, who had been purchased for Rs 20 lakh ahead of IPL 2024 as an uncapped pacer.

Mayank commanded such a massive salary due to his capability to bowl at dangerous speeds, crossing 150kph-plus, which earned him consecutive Player of the Match awards in his first two games in the IPL.

Encouraged by Mayank’s potential talent, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee added him to the pool of pacers given fast-bowling contracts.

Mayank’s time in IPL last year was limited to just four games because of a lingering side strain in the last two games he played.

During rehabilitation, Mayank picked up a different injury, which delayed his comeback, but he played in the Bangladesh T20Is.

Mayank picked up another injury, which forced him to return to rehabilitation. According to the report, he has a stress-related injury in his lower back on the left-hand side.
Last month, former India pacer Zaheer Khan, who has taken over as Lucknow’s team director, said that the team was working with BCCI’s medical team to chart a roadmap for Mayank’s return.

“As much as we are keen on having him [play IPL 2025], we want him 150% fit, not just 100% fit, so we’ll do everything possible to get him there," Zaheer had said.

In Mayank’s absence, Lucknow will have to rely on Mitchell Marsh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav and Mohsin Khan.