While Mayank Yadav was breaking speed guns in Zimbabwe, his father was quietly performing Govardhan Parikrama in Mathura

Mayank Yadav bowled the first ball of his international comeback at 149 kph and knocked over Zimbabwe's Brian Bennett. The 24-year-old pacer, playing his first match in two years after a string of injuries, finished with figures of 2 for 18 in the first T20I in Harare on Thursday. At almost the same time, 7,000 kilometres away in Mathura, his father Prabhu Yadav was seven hours into a 21-km walk around Govardhan Hill and had no idea any of it was happening.

That mismatch, a son breaking speed guns in Zimbabwe while his father walked a pilgrimage route with no phone signal to speak of, sums up the last two years of Mayank Yadav's career. He has spent them mostly out of sight: in rehab rooms, on treatment tables, and finally, on Thursday, back on a cricket field, making batters hop.

A wicket with the very first ball

Zimbabwe's Brian Bennett had given India a scare with a 97 during the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Mayank removed him with the first delivery of his comeback spell, then kept troubling the rest of the batting line-up with sharp seam movement, steep bounce and pace that stayed in the mid-to-high 140s throughout his four overs.


Speaking to the broadcasters after his spell, he admitted the nerves were real going into it.

"It's always a great feeling when you come back and play for your country, especially when you bowl a spell like this. It's a fantastic feeling and I don't think I can describe it well in words. Obviously there were some nerves. To make a comeback after two years, there is always going to be pressure. There was some nervousness in the middle," he said.

The first-ball wicket, he said, changed everything.

"After picking up a wicket on the very first ball, I calmed down a lot. I got the confidence that I can deliver even after making a comeback after two years," he added.

Seven thousand kilometres away, in Mathura

Prabhu Yadav works at a factory in Okhla that manufactures sirens for ambulances and police vehicles. He had travelled to Mathura and spent Thursday completing the Govardhan Parikrama, a sacred walk around Govardhan Hill, with no idea his son was bowling thunderbolts on the other side of the world.

Told about the spell afterwards by a TimesofIndia.com reporter, he could barely believe it.

"Kaise daala? Maine toh match dekha tak nahi. Mai toh bas kal raat hi Mathura aa gaya tha, bas abhi Govardhan Bhagwaan ki parikrama kar ke waapis nikal raha hun (How did he bowl? I didn't even watch the match. I only came to Mathura last night. I've just finished the Govardhan Bhagwan Parikrama and am now heading back)," he told TimesofIndia.com, still catching his breath from the walk.

He said he had asked for just one thing.

"Bas fit rahe, yahi maanga hai. Pichle do saal kaafi mushkil gaye hai bachhe ke (I have prayed for his fitness and success. The last two years have been really tough on the boy)," he said.

Two years, four injuries, one comeback

Mayank Yadav announced himself with express pace during IPL 2024. Within months, a stress fracture put him on the sidelines for more than a year, and the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru became something close to a second home. His IPL return this year did not go to script either, four games for Lucknow Super Giants, no wickets, 182 runs conceded at an economy of 11.37.

Narender Negi, his mentor and former Delhi Under-19 coach, listed just how much went wrong along the way.

"It is not easy to clock 145 kph consistently. He got unlucky with injuries as well. First it was a stress fracture in the back, then an ankle injury, followed by calf and knee injuries. It is not easy to cope with so many setbacks," Negi told TimesofIndia.com.

Negi was blunt about where that left public opinion on the young pacer, and how Thursday answered it.

"People wrote him off and I think today he proved everyone wrong. Yes, it is just one match, but he is back for sure," he said.

The phone call he didn't believe

Devender Sharma, who coached Mayank in his formative years, watched the toll the injuries took up close.

"It was not easy for the boy. The frequent injuries took a toll on him physically and mentally," Sharma told TimesofIndia.com. "He was upset. But he worked hard. Every single day, he gave his best. After any injury, rehabilitation becomes very important, and he completed it diligently. That has helped him get back where he belongs."

Sharma remembers exactly how Mayank reacted when he called to congratulate him on his selection for the Zimbabwe series. He didn't believe it.

"'Kyu mazak kar rahe ho sir?' (Are you kidding me, sir?) Those were his words when I told him about his selection. He was not expecting a call," Sharma said.

From net bowler to match-winner

Even through the lean IPL season, Mayank stayed in the selectors' plans. He was picked for the India A squad for warm-up games against the USA and Namibia ahead of the T20 World Cup, and was later one of seven net bowlers called up by Team India in New Chandigarh before the one-off Test against Afghanistan, bowling fast with the red ball under the watch of bowling coach Morne Morkel.

At the CoE, the workload has been building steadily. Sharma explained the target the team management has set for him.

"At the CoE, for the past year he has been bowling close to 15 overs every day. The aim is to bowl 20 overs a day. They want him to be ready for Test cricket from the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. He has been managed very carefully by all the stakeholders, and I hope he stays fit and repays the faith that the board has shown in him," Sharma said.

He credited the BCCI for sticking with the pacer through two frustrating years.

"Look, he is a special talent, and that's why you see the BCCI backed him. They never got frustrated. They showed faith in him," Sharma said.

Building towards Test cricket

The CoE workload, the net sessions with the Test squad, and now this comeback spell all point the same way, towards red-ball cricket. For now, though, Thursday's spell in Harare was proof of something simpler: that after a back stress fracture, an ankle injury, and calf and knee problems, the pace hasn't gone anywhere.

Mayank has barely been home in two years. His mother, Mamta Yadav, is hoping that changes now that the Zimbabwe series is underway.

"Ab shayad kuch din ghar rahe (Hopefully, he will stay at home for a few days now)," she said.

For a fast bowler who spent two years measured mostly by scan reports and rehab targets, Thursday's numbers on the speed gun in Harare meant something else entirely, a road back that started in a stress fracture and a father's prayers, and is now, finally, showing up on a scorecard.

(Source: TOI)