Mayank Yadav, 22, was raw and fast when he made his debut for India in 2024. Since then, he has been sidelined by a succession of ailments, forcing him to “suffer so much at such a young age”.
However, his resolve to achieve resulted in a Player-of-the-Match performance in the opening T20I against Zimbabwe on Thursday.It was quite difficult, especially given the two-year gap, because age was not on my side,” Mayank, now just over a month past 24, said after taking 2 for 18 in four overs in Harare.
“I was only 22-23 [years old]. I felt forced to go through so much at such a young age. At the same time, the desire to play for the country was always present. So I wanted to make a comeback and perform as I had before.”
In the first game of the three-game series, India used a young pace attack. Prince Yadav made his international debut on a recent tour of the United Kingdom, and he was already four T20Is deep.
Ashok Sharma made his debut. Mayank had played only three games for India. Shivam Dube, a batting allrounder with 71 T20I caps, was the team’s most experienced seamer.
But India reduced Zimbabwe to 26 for 3 during the powerplay, and the seamers took five of the seven wickets that fell in the innings. Mayank and Prince each claimed two wickets, while Dube got one. Ashok was wicketless but impressed in his debut, taking 0 for 29.
When asked about his chats with the other young fast bowlers, Mayank replied, “We don’t talk much about pace, but we have a good bond. I bowled the first over today and discussed the assistance I received with Prince and Ashok, as well as the best possibilities for attacking.
We were in a very good position after the first six overs. So the conversations revolved around how much more we could squeeze them and bowl.
After holding Zimbabwe to 125 for 7, India cruised home with 40 balls in hand. This was India’s first win since the T20 World Cup earlier this year, and Shreyas Iyer’s first as captain, following six losses and a washout.
“I hadn’t spoken to him [Iyer] much before the game,” Mayank admitted. “But during the game, he showed a lot of trust in the bowlers. “I was pleased that he supported my bowling strategy.
“When he gave me some advice, I felt confident in carrying it out and thought it was a good choice at the time. I felt quite free playing under him. It was my first time playing under his captaincy. I’d only seen him on television or leading other teams. I felt really pleased playing under him.”
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the youngest player to achieve a half-century in international cricket, fuelled India’s chase. He sped to his first T20I fifty in just 18 balls as India raced to 66 for 1 in the powerplay.
Mayank, who was on the receiving end of Sooryavanshi’s brilliance during IPL 2026 when he hit a 38-ball 93 to fuel Rajasthan Royals’ 221-run chase, expressed relief to be on the same side for a change.
“His batting is unbelievable,” Mayank stated.
“When I bowled to him, he played shots that you would not expect from a young player with so little experience. It’s always enjoyable to watch him bat.
“He has incredible talent for his age. I never imagined that a 15-year-old would come and smash everyone like that. It is amazing to have him on my squad, especially since he smashed us in the IPL against them [RR].
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