Yash Dayal on Sunday received a maiden Test call-up as India announced a 16-man squad for the 1st Bangladesh Test, starting September 19 in Chennai. The left-arm pacer’s selection could be surprising for many as he is majorly remembered for getting hammered by Rinku Singh in the IPL 2023. Those consecutive five sixes in the final over took a huge toll on his mental health, leaving him depressed in the middle of the season.
Dayal, who was playing for Gujarat Titans at the time, was benched for the next few games. Later, the team’s then-captain Hardik Pandya revealed that the pacer wasn’t keeping well and had shed extra kilos due to multiple factors, including the pressure put by the thrashing he had in the IPL game, against Kolkata Knight Riders.
“He fell ill and lost 7-8 kilos after that match. There was a spread of viral infection during that period and also due to the pressure he had faced, his condition is presently not good enough to take the field. Someone’s loss is someone’s gain at the end of the day. It is going to take a long time before we see him on the field,” Pandya had said in a post-match presentation.
Probably that one bad IPL season pushed him to get better with every game he played there on. He picked up 7 wickets in 4 Ranji Trophy matches for Uttar Pradesh last season and as many in 7 Syed Mushtaq Ali matches. Dayal was among the top wicket-takers for his state in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scalping 9 wickets in 6 games.
The confidence he gained in the domestic season, was reflected in the IPL 2024 when he found a new home in RCB. He was backed by the management as the team’s go-to paceman and in return, the left-hander produced some exceptional results, including the magnificent final over in which he denied CSK legend MS Dhoni to score the winning runs and hand them the playoff ticket. He tied with Siraj to end up as RCB’s joint-highest wicket-taker in the season.
“Woh darawana sapna firse aa raha tha jab Dhoni ne pehli ball pe sixer mara (That terrifying dream of last season started to haunt me when Dhoni hit that 110-m six off the first ball),” Dayal had told PTI after defending 17 runs in the final over.
“But deep inside, I knew something good would happen this time. It’s all the result of his hard work, full credit to him. God has been kind,” he added.
There was no looking back for Dayal as he was picked for the Duleep Trophy as well. Just before getting a maiden Test call-up, he picked up 4 wickets for India B and helped his team defeat India A by 76 runs.
As Mohammed Shami continues with his recovery at the NCA, Dayal found a place in the team of 16 for the Bangladesh Tests. While Bumrah will lead the charge and be backed by Siraj, the toss-up will be between the left-arm quick and Akash Deep for the third pacer’s place.
Comments
0 comment