Ever since he made his Indian Premier League debut earlier this year, Mayank Yadav was touted for a spot in India's T20I squad. However, his campaign, which began impressively as he recorded speeds in excess of 150kph and regularly picked wickets, was derailed with an injury, that further extended his wait for an India call-up. Earlier this month, however, Mayank was finally cleared to return to competitive cricket and BCCI wasted no time in drafting him into the squad for the T20I series against Bangladesh.

A key figure behind clearing the star speedster was former India batter VVS Laxman, who is currently the head of the NCA in Bengaluru. Devender Sharma, coach of Mayank Yadav, has revealed how Laxman took a personal interest in the pacer's recovery following his arrival at the NCA.

Sharma revealed that Laxman gave him a set of key instructions as Mayank began his rehab and bowling drills.

“All credit to Laxman sir. He took a special interest in Mayank, right from the day Mayank went to NCA. He was given a clear instruction by Laxman sir to first work on his core strength and then start bowling,” Sharma told The Indian Express.

“It was a slow process. BCCI didn’t want to take any risk. He started bowling two months back, and it took him a month to get back to his normal speed. For the past six weeks, he has been bowling 15 overs per day at the NCA, another instruction given to him by Laxman sir,” said Devender.

Mayank was among the three pacers selected for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, with the other two being Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh.

Mayank for Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Sharma also confirmed that BCCI is interested in flying Mayank as part of the squad for the five-Test series against Australia later this year. However, the speedster has been asked to take part in the Ranji Trophy to assess his fitness for multiple-day matches before a call is taken on his Test selection.

"Yes, there is a temptation to Mayank to Australia. But as far as I know, he will be tested in the T20Is first. Thereafter, he was told to play Ranji Trophy for Delhi. The NCA wants to monitor his body and whether it can cope with the pressure of four days or not. For now, he is fit to bowl four overs, in my opinion, he needs a season of domestic cricket to get ready for the four-day matches,” he said.

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