India’s greenhorn fast bowler Mayank Yadav has praised Shreyas Iyer after the Men in Blue registered a seven-wicket win against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Thursday. Yadav, who was making a comeback into the Indian team after two years, said he felt free while playing under Iyer.

Yadav returned with figures of 2-18 in his quota of four overs and thus was awarded Player of the Match as he played a key role in restricting Zimbabwe to 125-7. 

Yadav dismissed Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett with a jaffa on the very first ball of the innings and also accounted for Dion Myers.

“I hadn’t spoken to him much before the game. 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,” Mayank Yadav said during the post-match presentation.

Yadav’s young career has been plagued with injuries and the Delhi fast bowler admitted that recovery was challenging for him.

“It was very difficult, especially the gap of two years was a challenge because age wasn’t on my side. 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,” Mayank Yadav said.

The second T20I between India and Zimbabwe will be played at Harare Sports Club on Saturday.