In advance of the IPL 2025 mega auctions, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has decided to retain Indian fast bowler Mayank Yadav for a whopping Rs 11 crore. The fast-bowling sensation played his first IPL match in 2024 and featured in four games, taking seven wickets. Besides his bowling talent, Mayank Yadav is also known for his impressive fast bowling that often crosses the 150 kmph barrier. His blistering pace made him one of the players to watch in IPL 2024 where Mayank also got the opportunity to feature in three T20I matches for India last month.
Yet his results from the IPL 2024 season did raise concerns that he would be kept on by LSG because of his ongoing fitness issues. The fast bowler from Delhi has also played that many T20Is after IPL 2024 and has been injured for the next few months as well. Whether Mayank can manage to endure one whole season of IPL is still a question for the fans.
However, this was not a matter of concern for the LSG management, which had always believed it would be impossible to part with Mayank.
“The way you look at it, when a player is playing a match, is he able to contribute to a win? I think Mayank fits that bill perfectly. He played four games last season and took seven wickets. That itself depicts the capability of the player,” LSG co-owner Sanjeev Goenka explained to The Times of India the cause of retaining Mayank.
“Looking at other players with the same background when they commenced their careers, they too were injury-prone and had to cross train, if I can say that,” Goenka said.
“So that (injury) was not the critical issue; it was more about when he plays, what does he contribute to the game and to LSG? That was the rationale for retaining him.”
In addition to Mayank, LSG also kept West Indian glovesman Nicholas Pooran, Indian spinner Ravi Bishnoi, and two uncapped players—Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan. While Pooran will take home Rs 21 crore, Bishnoi was retained for Rs 11 crore, while Badoni and Mohsin will receive Rs 4 crores each
