Mayank Yadav was raw, fast and 22 when he made his India debut in 2024. Since then, a series of injuries sidelined him and he felt he had to "suffer so much at a young age". However, his motivation to represent India never wavered. That determination led to a Player-of-the-Match performance on comeback in the first T20I against Zimbabwe.
"It was very difficult, especially the gap of two years was a challenge because age wasn't on my side," Mayank said after picking up 2 for 18 in four overs in Harare. "I was just 22-23 [years old]. I felt that I had to suffer so much at a young age. At the same time, the motivation to play for the country was always there. So I wanted to make a comeback and perform as I did before."
In the opening game of the three-match series, India fielded a young pace attack. Prince Yadav made his debut on the recent tour of the United Kingdom and was four T20Is into his international career. Ashok Sharma made his debut. Mayank himself had played just three games for India. Shivam Dube, with 71 T20I caps, was the most experienced seamer in the side.
But India reduced Zimbabwe to 26 for 3 inside the powerplay, and the seamers picked up five of the seven wickets that fell. Mayank and Prince returned two wickets apiece while Dube took one. Ashok went wicketless but impressed on his first international appearance.
Asked about his conversations with the other young fast bowlers, Mayank said: "We don't talk a lot about pace but we have a nice bond. I bowled the first over today, so I shared inputs with Prince and Ashok - about the assistance I got and the better options to attack. We were in a very good situation after the first six overs. So the conversations were about how much more we can squeeze them, and what more we could bowl."
After restricting Zimbabwe to 125 for 7, India romped home with ease to a seven-wicket win. It was their first win since their T20 World Cup win earlier in the year and Shreyas Iyer's first win as India's T20I captain, after seven winless matches. Mayank said he felt "confident" and "quite free" playing under Iyer.
"I hadn't spoken to him much before the game," Mayank said. "But during the game, he showed a lot of confidence in the bowlers. I felt good that he backed what I wanted to bowl.
"When he gave me some advice, I felt confident in executing it and felt it was a good option at that time. I felt quite free playing under him. I was playing under his captaincy for the first time. I had only watched him on TV or lead other teams. I felt very good to play under him."
India's chase was turbocharged by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who became the youngest to score a half-century in internationals. He galloped to his maiden T20I fifty off just 18 balls as India raced to 66 for 1 in the powerplay.
Mayank, who had been on the receiving end of Sooryavanshi's brilliance during IPL 2026 when the teenager smashed a 38-ball 93 made to power Rajasthan Royals' 221-run chase, said he was releieved to be on his team this time.
"His batting is unbelievable," Mayank said. "When I bowled to him, he played shots you wouldn't expect a young player with so little experience to play. Watching him bat is always a treat.
"The talent he has at this age is fabulous. I never imagined some 15-year-old will come and smash everyone like that. It is a great feeling to have him in my team especially because in the IPL, when we played against them [RR], and he smashed us."