The Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) campaign in IPL 2024 suffered a setback on Wednesday as the side’s Indian pacer, Shivam Mavi, was ruled out due to injury. In a heartfelt video shared by the franchise on Instagram, Mavi expressed his disappointment at missing out on the tournament. The specifics of the injury were not disclosed in the video.

Mavi was picked up by the LSG for a hefty sum of INR 6.4 crores in this year’s auction; fate, however, had other plans as the injury forced him to withdraw from the tournament even before he could make an appearance for the side.

“I will miss [the tournament] a lot. I had come here after an injury and had thought I would play matches for my team and do well. But unfortunately, I will have to leave because I have suffered an injury,” Mavi said in the video posted by the franchise.

“A cricketer has to be mentally strong for this. If you have an injury, you need to see what you have to do to make a comeback, what things you need to take care of.”

The Super Giants are currently fourth on the points table with two wins from three games; they defeated the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Tuesday night, marking their second successive win in the season.

Mavi’s absence does impact the squad depth for the side, but with a plethora of seam-bowling options at their disposal – including Matt Henry, Shamar Joseph, and Mohsin Khan – still on the bench, the team management will not be too worried about a potential lack of options.

Mayank fires it up

Mayank Yadav, the 21-year-old fiery pacer from Delhi, has been making waves with his electrifying speeds for the Super Giants in the 2024 season. He made his debut last week for the side during the game against the Punjab Kings, and made an instant impact with figures of 3/27 in four overs.

He continued his brilliant form on Tuesday in Bengaluru, conceding only 14 runs off his four while also picking three crucial wickets. He has clocked the top speed in the IPL so far, recording 156.7kph during the game against the RCB.