'Many franchises run out of patience' - Irfan Pathan lauds LSG for backing young prospects

Former India seamer Irfan Pathan has credited Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for continuing to back Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan despite their recent injury concerns seeing them miss a large part of games over the past few seasons. 

Mayank has played just twice for LSG across the past two seasons while Mohsin missed the entirety of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season after sustaining an ACL injury. Despite barely playing for the franchise, the pair were retained ahead of the 2026 IPL season for INR 11 and 4 crore, respectively.

Pathan wants the fast bowling duo to repay the faith LSG has shown in them and come good this season. While Mayank played twice for India A ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, Mohsin will come into the IPL a little rusty since he has not played professional cricket since December 2024.

"Mayank Yadav has played six matches in two years, it is not enough. He is a retained player. He has to be available this year. If there is no place for him in the team, then that is a separate thing. The franchise has supported him. Mohsin Khan missed last year entirely, and even in the seasons before, he has not played all the games. But they have been backed; no other franchise does this. I have seen KKR and MI do it, but many franchises run out of patience after one or two seasons," Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

It is vitally important for Indian seamers within the LSG squad to come good this season given that the side’s main strength is overseas batting. Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran are all expected to do the heavy lifting with the bat for the Uttar Pradesh-based franchise this year, allowing just one overseas bowler to take part in the playing XI.

LSG, however, have a strong Indian bowling contingent. These include the aforementioned duo along with Mohammad Shami, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav and Naman Tiwari to name a few. 

The Rishabh Pant-led side will play their opening fixture at the 2026 IPL against Delhi Capitals at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday, April 1.