Former West Indies player-turned-commentator Ian Bishop has come to Mayank Yadav’s support following his disappointing outing for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) against the Rajasthan Royals in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday, April 22.

Yadav returned to full fitness to play his first game of the 2026 season and went for 56 runs from his quota of four overs without taking a wicket. This included bowling the 20th over of the match, where Ravindra Jadeja scored 20 runs to take RR to a winning total in the first innings. 

Despite the negativity surrounding Yadav’s spell with the ball, Bishophas come to his support, claiming that it is actually a positive to just see the 23-year-old back on the cricket field following a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

“To see negative comments about Mayank Yadav today is horrifying. The kid nearly lost his career & livelihood at 21yrs. Just to see him play again is huge boost. The fact that he clocked 150kph again is a miracle. At 23yrs just pray for him that he stays fit. The control will come,” Ian Bishop posted on X (formerly Twitter).

“Doesn’t matter about his bowling figures. What matters is that Mayank Yadav is on the park tonight. He has regularly gotten up to 150kph in this game already. Mohsin Khan fit, Prince Yadav firing. LSG are fortunate to have them being led by Shami,” he said in a separate post.

Yadav played just two games during the 2025 IPL season before picking up a back injury, which ruled him out of the entire tournament.

Yadav’s injury record has hampered his progress, not only with LSG but in the national team as well. The right-arm fast bowler played three T20Is for India in 2024 following his breakthrough in that season’s IPL.