Following months of rehabilitation and spending time on the sidelines, Indian speedster Mayank Yadav returned to international cricket in a thumping way, delivering a sensational bowling performance in the opening T20I against Zimbabwe on Thursday.

The young speedster, who had been out of India's setup since October 2024 due to injury, played a powerful role in India's victory. From the very first start, Mayank was in tremendous form, giving Zimbabwe batters tough times while taking two crucial wickets. His role was vital as India limited Zimbabwe to 125/7 in 20 overs.

Speaking after the match, Mayank revealed that coming back to international cricket after a long injury break was an emotional experience. He admitted to feeling nervous before the game, accepting that returning after several months away from competitive cricket definitely creates pressure.

“It's always a great feeling when you come back and play for your country and especially bowl like this, this type of spell. It's a fantastic feeling, and I don't think I can describe it well through my words. Obviously, it was there because I was coming back after two years, and there is always pressure when you come to play for your country. So, I was a little bit nervous. But my thinking and my plan were very simple: just execute my strengths and keep bowling,” Yadav said after the game.

Maynak also spoke about the challenges faced during his time out of action.

“There are a lot of things: physical training, mental training. When you're injured, and in that phase, mental strength makes a huge difference for any player. So, I think more than physically, for me, mentally I got much better, and I knew my body a lot better after the surgery and after the rehab," he said.