Mayank Yadav has bowled the fastest ball in IPL 2024 thus far at 156.7 kph.
He rushed the veteran PBKS openers Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow, clocking speeds of 150 kph with ease. His fastest ball in that match was 155.8 kph and he picked three wickets, earning the Player of the Match award in his IPL debut.
Then against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Mayank Yadav picked 3/14, while bowling the fastest ball at 156.7 kph and his performance earned him his second Player of the Match award.
South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada has praised Mayank Yadav and called his pace his weapon, which he can use to ‘terrorize the batsmen’. He admired the talent that Mayank possesses and as a fellow fast bowler, he thinks that bowling at that pace is something he should not stray away from.
“It’s just raw pace, man. He is sharp, that’s obvious. It’s a massive weapon. He will always rush the batsman. And he’s showing some good control too. He was born with the pace. Pace is not bought in the market. That’s his genuine weapon,” Rabada told Hindustan Times.
The two-bouncer rule also benefits the express-pacer as he can keep the batters guessing and get some wickets.
Rabada highlighted,” The two bouncers are helping. He’s banging it in on a back of a length. And batters are trying to take him on but end up hitting it upwards. It also messes up their footwork. They’re not quite getting forward. Unless they come forward, they’ll find it hard to get on top of him”.
The experienced campaigner also gave a warning to Mayank’s future opponents.
He said, “Raw pace goes a long way. Teams will have to plan carefully against him.”
Rabada believes that the youngster's future challenges will be determined by his ability to maintain his fitness to continue his career. Furthermore, the pacer went into greater detail about how to deal with weak periods in a player's career.
“It’s about being fresh mentally. It can be hard if we’re being called to play every single format. Almost every game, just bowling, and bowling… If I look back on how I would have done things differently, perhaps I would have been more professional in looking after my body when it comes to recovery. Mayank can think of all that but what he must do is keep bowling fast. Enjoy the feeling of terrorizing batters,” Rabada said.
He concluded by saying,” There will come a stage where you get found out. You’re gonna have bad days, it’s inevitable. It’s about learning how to bounce back. Only through your learning, you’ll understand what else you might need. Mayank doesn’t need to change the working formula. It’s about having the right balance of trying to be a step ahead and not improvising too much because then you might create demons in your head”.
(Hindustan Times inputs)