'Mayank Yadav nearly lost his career & livelihood at 21': Ian Bishop defends LSG pacer amid criticism

Former West Indies pacer and ace commentator Ian Bishop recently took to his X account to defend Lucknow Super Giants pacer Mayank Yadav from online criticism.

Yadav has a history of struggling with injuries that has kept him off the field more than he has been on. He first joined LSG in 2022 but did not play that season. In 2023, he was ruled out of the season entirely and had to wait till 2024 to make his debut.

Mayank Yadav makes dream debut in 2024

When he made his debut in IPL 2024, Mayank Yadav made waves straight away by clocking 150kph consistently. His bowling was enough to win matches by themselves.

Yadav won the Player of the Match award in each of his first two IPL matches and became the first player to do so in IPL history.

Unfortunately, he got injured in his third match and was limited to just four matches that season.

Struggles with injury

Mayank Yadav's struggles with injury have been well documented. Even though he made his T20I debut in 2024, injuries have prevented him from becoming a mainstay in the team.

In IPL 2025, Mayank was limited to just two matches after a back injury ruled him out in the middle of the season. His long injury layoff prevented him from playing too much cricket and delayed his comeback.

Mayank Yadav fails on his comeback and faces criticism

Mayank Yadav's much-anticipated comeback to the IPL was delayed. Yadav played two warmup matches for India A against Namibia and USA respectively during the T20 World Cup but didn't do very well.

His return to the IPL was delayed until LSG's 7th match of the season. He returned to the fold against Rajasthan Royals in Lucknow, but did not play well.

Mayank conceded 56 runs in four overs, including conceding 20 runs in the last over, which let Rajasthan Royals rack up 159 runs on a seaming and tricky pitch.

LSG's other three pacers together took 6 wickets and conceded only 76 runs in 12 overs. Mayank's figures proved to be the difference as LSG lost by 40 runs. This was LSG's fourth defeat in a row in IPL 2026

This dismal performance meant that he came under criticism on social media from all quarters.

Also Read: Ravindra Jadeja breaks silence on Riyan Parag denying him full quota of overs in IPL 2026

Bishop jumps to Yadav's defence

Ian Bishop took to his X account and defended Yadav from the criticism. He said that all the negative comments were 'horrifying'.

Bishop referred to Yadav's 2023 injury saying that the 'kid' had 'nearly lost his career and livelihood at the age of 21'. Bishop also said that the fact that he could bowl 150 kmph after his back injury last year was a miracle.

He urged fans to stay patient and asked them to pray for the 23-year-old's fitness. Bishop assured everyone that the control will eventually come.

Read Bishop's tweet here:

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 Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) April 23, 2026