India pacer Mayank Yadav reflected on his difficult journey back to international cricket after producing a match-winning spell in the first T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare on Thursday, July 23. The express quick admitted that remaining motivated during a two-year injury layoff was far from easy, but the dream of wearing the India jersey again kept him going.

Mayank starred with the ball in India's dominant victory, returning figures of 2/18 in four overs. The right-arm speedster struck with the very first ball of the match by dismissing the dangerous Brian Bennett before removing Dion Myers during his opening spell, setting the tone for India's convincing win.

The outing marked Mayank's fourth T20I appearance and his first for India in nearly two years after a series of back injuries interrupted his promising career. He missed a significant portion of IPL 2025 before suffering another setback after featuring in just two matches, which eventually required surgery.

The 23-year-old worked his way back through India A's warm-up fixtures ahead of the T20 World Cup before making four appearances for the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2026, although he went wicketless during that stint.

Speaking after receiving the Player of the Match award, Mayank opened up on the mental challenges of spending such a long period on the sidelines at a young age.

“It was very difficult [to keep myself motivated], especially this two-year gap was very challenging for me as a person because the main thing is age wasn’t on my side at that time. I was only 22 or 23 years old,” Mayank told reporters after the match.

“So that thing always affected me that at such a young age, I’m having to see so much. At the same time, the motivation to play for the country exists from childhood for every player. So that motivation was there for me that I should return to play for the country and perform the way I did.”

Mayank credited Iyer for creating a positive environment on the field, saying the skipper gave his bowlers complete freedom to execute their plans while also offering valuable inputs whenever required.

“I didn’t speak much to him before the match. But when he was captaining, I felt that he showed a lot of confidence in the bowlers and I felt very good that whatever I wanted to bowl, he backed that. When he gave me some advice too, I felt very confident that I can back that and it was a good option,” Mayank continued.

The victory also marked Shreyas Iyer's first win as India's T20I captain after enduring seven consecutive defeats during tours of Ireland and England. It was also India's first victory in the format since successfully defending their T20 World Cup title earlier this year.

“I felt very free playing with him. It’s the first time I’m playing under his captaincy, I’ve only seen him lead on TV or with other teams so it felt very good,” he concluded.

Having made an impressive return to international cricket, Mayank will now look to carry the momentum into the second T20I against Zimbabwe at the same venue on Saturday, July 25, as India aim to seal the series with a game to spare.