From being a potential weapon in Australia to again living with uncertainty over a comeback, Mayank Yadav seems to be one strange, curious case of current Indian cricket.

After recovering from a side strain and abdominal injury which had sidelined him for a long period following a brief appearance in his maiden IPL season this year — where he impressed with his searing pace — the young fast bowler was back in the fray for the Australia tour.

He was supposed to join the Indian contingent as one of the reserve quicks.

The scene looked bright for Mayank after his India debut in the recent T20I series against Bangladesh after which, he was selected as a travelling reserve for the ongoing Test series against New Zealand. The Team India coaching staff were obviously monitoring Mayank’s red-ball bowling, while he was as good as an automatic choice for the T20I tour of South Africa next month.

But, the 22-year-old is again out injured, according to a BCCI release last week. So, he’s not just out of the South Africa T20Is, but yet again has to be on the sidelines.

“It’s not that Mayank (currently at the BCCI Centre of Excellence on the outskirts of Bengaluru) has sustained a fresh injury, but he has been advised not to play now as they’re looking to have him back for the England ODIs (in January 2025),” Mayank’s personal coach Devendra Sharma said.

According to a BCCI official, “There appears to be some problem with his back... Could also be a case of stress fracture. As per the earlier prescription from the NCA (National Cricket Academy), he could play in the Ranji Trophy from its fourth or fifth round, but that’s no longer possible now. He’s again out for quite some time.”

‘Best available group’

Mayank’s presence would have galvanised India’s fast bowling resources for the five-match Test series in Australia beginning on November 22. With Mohammed Shami too not there in the initial stage of the series and Mohammed Siraj struggling alittle with form, Jasprit Bumrah may have to shoulder extra responsibility.

Among the other quicks, there’s Akash Deep, who’s only four Tests old, and Prasidh Krishna with experience of just two Tests and who has recovered from an injury not too many days back. Youngsters Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy, an all-rounder, have played only 10 and 21 first-class games, respectively.

“You’ve got to look at the best available group in terms of variation. Past and current performances must have been counted. That’s one of the reasons Harshit Rana is there since he has done well in the past.

“You need to look at the conditions where you have to play and the variations available, which are two important aspects in Australia. Maybe they needed a left-arm seamer in the current lot, but Prasidh is different to Bumrah. Akash and Siraj are also a tad different. Prasidh is a tall guy and hit-the-deck kind of bowler who can exploit those conditions as there’s more bounce compared to the other surfaces.

“Not much experience in the current lot, but the overall talent is exciting,” former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey explained.