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Follow UsWhen, at the age of six, Yash Dayal picked up the ball with his left hand, it was enough for his dad, Chandrapal Dayal, to be convinced of his cricketing future.
In a country where kids are trained to use their right hand, Yash was built differently, his ability to not just pick the ball but also throw with his other hand already gave him a head start.
It wasn’t until 12, when Chandrapal took his kid to Madan Mohan Malviya Cricket Stadium in Allahabad, that he realised that his future was bright. Yash’s talent was realised quite early, with his ability to swing the ball both ways and bowl a mean bouncer while still maintaining an immaculate line and length.
When, at the age of 14, he was already training with the Uttar Pradesh U-19 camp, it was understood that Yash was going to make it big. But when and how remained a question.
Here’s the timeline of Dayal’s rise to the Indian team:
Debut at the age of 20
It wasn’t until he was 20 that Dayal earned his maiden call-up to the Uttar Pradesh set up in the List A format for the 2018 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
The left-arm pacer made his debut against Chhattisgarh, sharing the new ball alongside the experienced Ankit Rajpoot. However, he didn’t pick a wicket until the 30th over of the innings, when he removed the well-set Avnish Dhaliwal.
Dayal finished the match with figures of 1/41 and only represented UP in three matches that season, averaging 67 with the ball while picking up two wickets.
First-class debut in 2018
In the same year, on November 1, the left-arm seamer made his first-class debut in Kanpur against Goa. It took him only six overs to remove Amogh Sunil Desai, his first scalp in first-class cricket.
While he was costly in his first innings, there were early signs that were enough for UP to keep their faith in the left-arm pacer. In his second game, Dayal picked up four wickets, once again affirming his talent.
A monstrous first year in the Ranji Trophy
While Dayal didn’t pick up a single five-wicket haul in his maiden season, the left-arm pacer finished as UP’s third-highest wicket-taker, with 30 wickets, averaging 24.70. His best figure was a four-wicket haul against Jammu and Kashmir.
First T20 campaign for UP
Dayal made his T20 debut in 2019, starting with the clash against Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), where he picked up one wicket. In that entire campaign, Dayal finished with nine wickets, averaging 19.9.
First five-wicket haul in first-class cricket
It wasn’t until December 2019 when the Allahabad-born picked up his maiden five-wicket haul, coming against the Indian Railways. After picking up figures of 4/73 in the first innings, Dayal showed his prowess in the second to finish with five wickets.
The then 21-year-old finished his Ranji Trophy 2018-19 campaign with 18 wickets, including a four-wicket haul against Saurashtra, the runners-up that year.
White-ball prowess that fuelled a maiden India call-up
Post the COVID-19 break, Dayal showed his worth in the white-ball formats, with four wickets in the 2021 SMAT season. But the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy came to his rescue, with the left-arm pacer putting on a dazzling show.
In that tournament, Dayal took 21 wickets with an astonishing economy of 4.4 and an average of 19.1. He also took four three-wicket hauls in that tournament, one against Delhi, Gujarat, Saurashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. It didn’t end there; he also took a five-wicket haul against Hyderabad in that season, which led to the franchises noticing his talent.
An ‘unexpected’ India assignment
According to The Indian Express, Dayal was on the verge of making it to the Indian ODI setup when he was asked to take the flight to Ahmedabad, to join the Indian camp for an ODI series against West Indies in 2022. However, a day later, he was sent back, after everyone in the camp got a clean chit on COVID-19 and his services were not required.
“During his stint with the senior team, he has impressed the team management with his pace. A good outing in Ranji Trophy will make his case stronger,” Yash’s childhood coach Amit Pal told The Indian Express.
The big Indian Premier League break
Dayal made the headlines during the 2022 Indian Premier League auction as Gujarat Titans shelled INR 3.2 crores to acquire his service.
The Zaheer Khan-idolising Dayal found home under the guidance of another left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra. He finished the season with 11 wickets, earning the plaudits of one and all, showing that he was indeed cut from a different cloth.
But then came the big downfall…
Just when life was sailing smoothly for the left-arm seamer, he began the 2023 season on the bench before being flogged for five sixes in a row in the final over, defending 29 runs against Rinku Singh. “Yash Dayal gets hit for five sixes”, not just stung him but his family equally.
“My mother didn’t eat that day. My family was down too but they always showed faith in me. I explained to her that these things are a part of the game,” Dayal told The Quint.
After that, he lost almost eight kilos, suffering from viral fever, and went into almost a deep state of trauma, making just two more appearances in the season.
The rise, rise and rise of Dayal (ever after)
Post that, Dayal was trusted by RCB, getting an INR 5 crore contract from the franchise at the IPL 2024 Auction. The left-arm pacer was mighty impressive during the season for the Bengaluru-based outfit, with 15 wickets, including best figures of 3/20.
Dayal was also one of the key contributors in RCB turning their season around, from the bottom half of the table to qualifying for the knockout. Soon after, he was there for India B, impressing the selectors with four wickets in the clash against India A in the Duleep Trophy 2024.
His display in the second innings, especially the delivery to remove Mayank Agarwal, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel, was enough to earn him a maiden call-up to India’s Test squad for the Bangladesh series.
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