4 min readMay 8, 2026 09:49 AM IST
Lucknow Super Giants pacer Prince Yadav’s breakout IPL season got brighter on Wednesday night when he cleaned up Royal Challengers Bengaluru talisman Virat Kohli for a duck in Lucknow. With 16 wickets in 10 games, the LSG pacer has been among the leading pace stars this season, his latest three-wicket burst backing him for a potential India debut soon after the IPL season.
It was Kohli’s first dismissal for a duck in the IPL in three years, and only the second time ever he was bowled out without scoring a run in an innings. In a rain-curtailed game, RCB were left to hunt a daunting 210 in 19 overs before Prince nipped out the chasemaster Kohli in the second over. Returning at the death to tighten the screws, Prince walked away with figures of 3/33 as LSG eked out a nine-run win.
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Former India batter Ambati Rayudu lavished praise on the Lucknow pacer, who hails from Delhi and is in only his second IPL season. Rayudu remarked that he saw an all-format pace gun in Prince, ready for an India debut soon after the IPL season.
‘Bowl to Kohli was unplayable’
“I think he’s going to make his debut soon for India. That guy is a special talent. We have seen it throughout the IPL, and also the way he runs in his run-up itself tells that he’s in there with a fight. He bowls a heavy ball, and most of his deliveries are hitting the stumps if you look at it. That’s a speciality and the ball [to Kohli] was very, very special. That’s a beautiful ball to bowl, with it swinging right in front of the bat. I don’t think any batsman in the world can play them,” said Rayudu on ESPNcricinfo.
In the same discussion, former New Zealand cricketer Katey Martin hailed the Kohli dismissal as the best delivery of the season thus far.
“You almost say that’s the ball of the tournament. That we’ve seen not just because of the way that was able to swing late as well back into the stumps top of off. Especially to to Virat Kohli, who we thought was going to be a really key factor in that chase as well. I think for Prince, he’ll he’ll sit back tonight and go I’ve just bowled the ball of the tournament to the greatest batter that we’ve seen in the IPL as well that,” added Martin.
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Rayudu effused more praise on the right-arm seamer’s ability to test both edges of the bat, owing to a sleek action and fitness.
“Seriously to watch this guy bowl is unbelievable. I mean it will be it’ll be a total pleasure to stand in the first or second slip to it. I think he’s an all-format bowler, the way he’s looking.
“His fitness and also because he’s so fit he’s so agile and his action is so clean, he has the consistency which most of the bowlers don’t have. Lot of bowlers bowl one or two good balls in an over this guy bowls about four to five. So that’s his strength I feel,” said Rayudu.
Breaking into the IPL circuit on the back of tennis-ball cricket and impressive performances in the Delhi Premier League in 2024, Prince has been the backbone of the LSG attack this season, standing third on the wicket-taking charts, only behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar (17) and Anshul Kamboj (17).
