Once hit for five sixes in the final over of the innings by Rinku Singh, left-arm pacer Yash Dayal has had a turnaround at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The left-arm pacer gets called upon by captain Rajat Patidar in tough situations and he often delivers. The left-arm pacer gets called upon by captain Rajat Patidar in tough situations and he often delivers. Then, he managed to lead his team to two-run win despite bowling a no-ball. Dayal has played his role well at RCB and his father, Chanderpal Dayal, lauded Virat Kohli for believing in him.
"Virat Kohli has supported him a lot. When Yash joined RCB, Virat would often call him to his room — and sometimes, he would go to Yash’s room himself. They discussed that over [from 2024], and Virat told him one thing: ‘Keep working hard, toofan macha de. Main hoon tere saath. Chinta mat karna. Mehnat karna mat chhodna. Galtiyan karna, par seekhna aur aage badhna.’ Virat has given him a lot of freedom and turned him into a fearless cricketer," Chanderpal told TOI.
"I have seen many cricketers break down, especially bowlers, but Virat has connected them with his own hands," he added.
After Dhoni's wicket, Dayal bowled a no-ball and Shivam Dube hit it for a six. But, he came back well and conceded three singles from the remaining deliveries in the innings.
Chanderpal said that fans and even family members had given up on Yash but he was confident that his son will pull it off.
"It’s never over till the last ball is bowled in cricket. Yash is more mature now. I’m sure even the fans had given up — my family did too. But I was confident that Yash would pull it off. And he did. His calmness was the key in this match," said Chanderpal.
Patidar had confidence in Yash
Patidar lauded Yash who is his death overs speciallist. He also lauded leg-spinner Suyash Sharma who remained wicketless but conceded 43 runs from his quota of four overs.
"He is a main bowler of the team, he is a death specialist, it was a clear-cut thought to give the last over to Yash. Last year also he did well and I'm happy for him. I had confidence in Suyash also, till now he has been bowling good overs for RCB. That decision was 50-50 but I backed my bowler and he came good," the RCB captain said in the post-match presentation.
Yash's run in IPL 2025
Yash is not among the leading wicket-takers this season as he has 10 wickets from 11 games. However, he has complimented RCB's veteran pacers Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.