Mayank Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah (Agency Image)

Mayank Yadav has opened up about a major shift in his approach to fitness and recovery after battling multiple injuries, admitting that he previously neglected his body before a surgery forced him to rethink everything. The 23-year-old fast bowler, who represents Lucknow Super Giants, went through a difficult phase that began with an injury during IPL 2024, followed by a serious back problem that kept him out for the remainder of the 2025 season. Having completed his rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, he is now gearing up for a comeback. Reflecting on his journey, Mayank acknowledged how drastically his mindset has changed post-surgery. “Everything has changed for me post-surgery. Earlier, I never used to take care of myself. Whenever I had to do a recovery session, I used to avoid it and neglect many aspects. But after the surgery, I paid a lot of attention to recovery, nutrition and sleep. The more I respect my body, the more my body respects me on the field,” he said on JioStar’s ‘IPL Today Live’. During his time at the National Cricket Academy, Mayank found valuable guidance from Jasprit Bumrah, who had undergone a similar procedure. The young pacer described Bumrah as a mentor figure during the recovery phase. “When I was in rehab at the NCA, Bumrah bhaiya was also there. I have a very good bonding with him. He is like a teacher to me. He also had the same surgery, the same scenario,” he said. “Bumrah bhaiya shared his experience of how to come back after surgery and what things to pay attention to. He told me how the body will be during recovery, how it will react. Sometimes it will feel good, sometimes not. Whenever we talk on call or messages, he shares his experience as much as possible,” he added. Mayank, who recorded the fastest delivery by an Indian during IPL 2024, also spoke about when he first realised his ability to bowl at extreme pace. “When I came to the IPL for the first time, our trainers used to measure our bowling speed with a speed gun. At that time, I came to know that I have this talent, I have this gift. So now I have to respect it,” he said. He also acknowledged the physical and mental challenges associated with fast bowling. “With fast bowling, things are always a little dicey whether you can do it or not. There is a lot of stress on the body, physically and mentally.” Tracing his love for pace back to childhood, Mayank said he was always inclined towards fast bowling rather than spin. “When I used to play in the streets, I didn’t know how to bowl spin so I used to bowl only fast bowling. My craze for fast bowling began since childhood. My father also used to show me a lot of fast bowling videos. “Mostly, when India used to play in South Africa, I used to watch a lot of those matches. I really liked two of their pacers, our current bowling coach Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn. Through them, I got the craze to bowl fast,” he said.

England’s head coach Brendon McCullum with captain Ben Stokes. (File photo/PTI)

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday decided not to make any changes to its leadership group after England’s 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia, following a review of the tour.Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” Gould said but he insisted, “This is not the time to throw everything out.”Managing director Rob Key, head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes will continue in their roles. England, described as their strongest side to tour Australia in 14 years, lost the Ashes within 11 days, with two Tests still to be played.“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That’s not the route that we’re going to take,” Gould said, as cited by news agency Associated Press. “I’ve seen the driving ambition and determination that we’re lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”Gould, who previously served as chief executive of Bristol City football club, said cricket operates differently from football and does not follow a hire-and-fire approach.“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership … it’s not like football where there’s a single point of failure or success with a manager,” he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”The review identified issues around preparation, player behaviour and selection decisions during the tour.At a press conference at Lord’s, Gould and Key said there had been no “bust up” between McCullum and Stokes. They added that McCullum is not expected to “completely change” but “to evolve,” while acknowledging that some player behaviour was “unprofessional.” They also pointed to stricter consequences for underperformance and a focus on “better long-term planning” ahead of major Test series.Some adjustments were already made during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould suggested that performance played a role in McCullum retaining his position.Key accepted that supporters may have expected stronger action.“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn’t mean we don’t feel like we’ve gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It’s been as tough a time as I think I’ve had.”

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane has sent out an early statement ahead of IPL 2026, showcasing his intent with a blistering knock in a practice game. The veteran batter smashed 58 off just 25 balls, bringing up his half-century in only 20 deliveries before voluntarily walking off to allow other players time in the middle.Despite a disappointing 2025 campaign, where KKR finished eighth with just five wins in 14 matches, the franchise has continued to back Rahane as skipper. The 37-year-old had been their leading run-scorer last season with 390 runs in 13 matches at an average of 35.45 and a strike rate of 147. 73, even as the team struggled to defend their title.Heading into the new season, Rahane made it clear that he is embracing the responsibility with a calm and optimistic outlook. “Every year, there are different challenges as a player and also as a captain. What I learned throughout my journey is be positive each and every time, whatever challenges are there,” he said during the team’s first media interaction.“I’ve been leading the team since last year and really grateful to the franchise that they gave me this responsibility to lead the team. Taking everything in my stride, taking everything in a positive way. There are always opportunities, there are challenges, you always see opportunities.“My mindset has always been like that throughout my career, that if I see any challenges or particular, if something difficult is, I look at it in a positive way and try to give my best as a player and also as a captain,” he added.With the lessons from last season in mind, Rahane stressed the importance of a strong start while maintaining consistency across the tournament. “As a team, we would like to start really well this season,” he said.“It’s a long tournament and you don’t want to peak too early. As a team, and also the expectations from the boys, basically, you don’t actually looking for a perfect game. There are going to be errors throughout the tournament.“But as a unit, what we would like to do is we play positive brand of cricket. So as a unit, as a team management, we are really confident about the side that will do really well this season.”KKR enter IPL 2026 with a revamped squad, particularly in the batting department. The franchise parted ways with experienced players like Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer, while making significant investments at the auction, including a record Rs 25.20 crore signing of Cameron Green.The new-look squad features aggressive options such as Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, alongside Sunil Narine and Rahane at the top of the order.Despite the depth in batting, Rahane chose not to reveal the team’s combinations. “The batting group which we have this year is amazing. I mean, most of the batters, they’re in good form. Guys from overseas also in good, very good nick. Had a very good World Cup as well.“See, frankly, I’m not going to tell you the lineup, what lineup we are going to go with, but as I said, all the batters who are here at the moment are very good in nick, very good in nick, and we just started our camp with this before, so really excited for the season,” he said.

India’s Axar Patel and teammates celebrate (ANI Photo)

Axar Patel has shed light on a unique ‘tradition’ followed by the Indian cricket team during major assignments, while also reiterating his stance against the Impact Player rule ahead of IPL 2026.The Delhi Capitals skipper spoke about how players often visit temples during bilateral tours and ICC events. During the 2026 T20 World Cup, Indian players were seen visiting several temples before matches, and even after lifting the title, captain Suryakumar Yadav, head coach Gautam Gambhir and International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah visited the Hanuman Temple to seek blessings with the trophy.

Speaking at a Delhi Capitals event on Monday, Axar explained that such visits are largely driven by convenience and security arrangements during tournaments. “Temple visits are not a bad thing. We go to temples where otherwise we wouldn’t be able to go. We have security with us during tournaments,” he said.Alongside this, Axar once again voiced his displeasure with the Impact Player rule, becoming the latest Indian cricketer to question its impact on the game. The rule, introduced in 2023, allows teams to substitute a player from a list of five at any stage of the match and is set to remain in place until at least 2027.Axar’s view aligns with other senior players such as Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, both of whom have previously raised concerns. Rohit had pointed out in 2024 that the rule hampers the development of all-rounders, while Hardik later added that it makes team selection difficult unless a player excels equally with both bat and ball.Explaining his perspective, Axar highlighted how the rule changes team strategies and reduces the need for multi-skilled players. “I don’t like this rule, honestly, because I am an all-rounder. Earlier, you would pick an allrounder for batting and bowling.“But because of this rule, the team management goes for a particular batsman or bowler, thinking ‘Why do we need an allrounder?’ Since I am an allrounder, I don’t like the rule. At the same time, rules are rules and we need to follow them. From a personal point of view though, I don’t like the rule,” he said during a pre-season press conference.Delhi Capitals will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on April 1. Axar had earlier also flagged the issue in 2024, noting that the rule had an impact on his batting position when he was serving as vice-captain.