Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal received his maiden Test call-up for the first Test of the two-Test series against Bangladesh. Dayal was among four fast bowlers who were selected for the first Test. However, it was a bumpy road for the Uttar Pradesh pacer who went through a horrific period when he was hit for five sixes in the final over by Rinku Singh in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. His father Chanderpal Dayal still has hooting of "Rinku Singh, Rinku Singh five sixes, five sixes" fresh in his memory.
"Humare liye woh ek hadsa tha (It was like an accident for us)," Chanderpal, a retired officer with the Accountant General's Office in Allahabad told PTI.
"The school bus would pass by, and kids would scream, ‘Rinku Singh, Rinku Singh, five sixes.’ It was so painful -- why did this have to happen to my son?”
Not just Yash, but his mother Radha was affected by the incident so much that she refused to eat and fell ill. As Yash played the horrors of towering sixes by his statemate in Ahmedabad, he went into a shell.
"His mother Radha was so distraught that she fell ill and refused to eat as Yash went into a shell. Titans also released him as he had to rebuild his career," Chanderpal recalled.
Family didn’t give up on Yash’s dreams
However, the family did not lose sight of Yash's dreams. They motivated him to keep playing until he represents India.
"Yash fell ill, but we never let him think about giving up. We, as a family, made a pledge. 'Jab tak tum (Yash) India nahin khelogey, chodenge nahin. India tum khelke rahoge (We won't stop until you play for India. You will play for India),'" Chanderpal stated.
Dayal picked ahead of Arshdeep and Khaleel
Dayal was picked by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) where he bagged 15 wickets from 14 games. He continued to work hard in domestic cricket. In the Duleep Trophy 2024 first round, he took four wickets for India B. He received his maiden Test call-up ahead of left-arm pacers Arshdeep Singh and Khaleel Ahmed.
However, it is unlikely that he makes his Test debut straightaway considering the spin-friendly conditions at home. It will be interesting if he gets his maiden Test cap against Bangladesh in the two-Test series.
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