IPL 2024: Brett Lee, Shane Watson left captivated by sensational showing by LSG speedster Mayank Yadav

In today's day-and-age, where fast bowlers are all the more susceptible to injuries, there's been a substantial drop in pacers finding a place for themselves in the 155+ kph club on a regular basis. However, the newly-discovered fast-bowling sensation, Mayank Yadav, has been the talk of the town, with him delivering two back-to-back Player of the Match performances in his debut IPL season, after getting drafted by the Lucknow Supergiants ahead of the 2022 season.

The youngster has also left former pace veteran Brett Lee impressed with his proficiency on the cricketing field in the ongoing seventeenth edition of the Indian Premier League. The former cricketer even did some analysis of the Lucknow Supergiants' latest sensation.

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Speaking on JioCinema, the former pacer noted that Yadav's arms and legs follow the same line at the time of releasing the ball. The other indicator picked up by Lee was the braced front leg at the time of release, contributing to enhanced pace, as compared to a buckled front leg.

Meanwhile, Lee's teammate and former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson appeared as a co-panellist during the post-match show. Watson pointed out how Mayank beat all the three batters for pace, coupled with the incoming angle from over-the-wicket.

Watson highlighted that pace bowlers striving to bowl as fast as possible should aim to brace (or linearly extend) their front leg while bowling, just like how Mayank was undertaking it perfectly well, with him leveraging his front leg like a “catapult” to get the “extra 5-10 kph”, as mentioned by Watson. He also mentioned that bracing the leg puts an immense amount of pressure on the body, but is ultimately the key factor to bowling fast.

Also Read: 'My aim is to play for India as much as possible' - Mayank Yadav opens up after back-to-back match-winning shows

Yadav could generate an extra 4-5 kmph, reckons Lee

Analysing his display against the Punjab Kings, where Mayank got the better of Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, and Jitesh Sharma to end up with amazing figures of 3/27 in his four overs, the Australian duo were left captivated by the sensational showing by the Delhi-born.

Lee, who played for teams like Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders previously, also reckoned that the LSG pacer had a potential 4-5 kph store left in him, which he could utilize by alleviating lateral flexion from his bowling. For the unversed, the cricketing terminology “lateral flexion” is basically the head and/or body falling away at the time of release, which more often than not, doesn't let the delivery delivered by the bowler reach its maximum attainable speed.