India pacer Mayank Yadav made his return to international cricket as the Men in Blue took on Zimbabwe in the first T20I of the ongoing three-game series. Following his debut in 2024, the fast bowler has beenย forced into a long break from cricket due to a lower back stress fracture and surgery and a string of injuries.
In the opening game of the three-match T20 series against Zimbabwe, in Harare, Yadav made his comeback with a superb spell and took theย Player of the Match award home as well.ย He led the bowling attack and, with the first ball of the game, dismissed Brian Bennett for a duck. Subsequently, he took out Dion Myers within the power play, putting in an exceptional showing.ย
Yadav played a crucial role in restricting Zimbabwe to 125 runs. He took two wickets while giving away 18 runs in four overs. India chased the 126-run target with ease, with over six overs to spare.
In the post-match interaction, he admitted that he was nervous about his return to international cricket after his lengthy gap. He expressed his joy in playing for India once more.
โIt’s always a great feeling when you come back and play for your country and especially bowl like this, this type of spell. It’s a fantastic feeling, and I don’t think I can describe it well through my words. Obviously, it was there because I was coming back after two years, and there is always pressure when you come to play for your country. So, I was a little bit nervous. But my thinking and my plan were very simple: just execute my strengths and keep bowling,โ Yadav said after the game.
Mayank Yadav opened up on his recovery
In his interview, he also opened up about the hardships he faced during his two years away from the field and how the motivation to play for the nation pushed him towards his comeback.
โThere are a lot of things: physical training, mental training. When you’re injured, and in that phase, mental strength makes a huge difference for any player. So, I think more than physically, for me, mentally I got much better, and I knew my body a lot better after the surgery and after the rehab,” he said.
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