Who is Yash Dayal, the uncapped bowler snapped up by Gujarat Titans
Earlier in February, out of nowhere, Yash Dayal was on the verge of making his debut for Team India. The Indian camp was marred with COVID-19 cases before the start of the ODI series against the West Indies. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), thereafter, called the Allahabad-born Dayal and asked him to fly to Ahmedabad.
He was called as up as a backup in case more coronavirus positive cases emerged in the home team’s camp. Although he didn’t get to don the national jersey, the fact that he was in radar of the selectors would have given him a breather. About a fortnight later, he’s sitting pretty with a handsome deal in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Yash Dayal makes it big
From a base price of INR 20 lakhs, Dayal ended up bagging a deal of INR 3.20 crores. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT) tried to secure the services of the left-arm pacer. KKR started the bidding, but they backed off when Dayal’s price reached INR 75 lakhs. From there on, RCB and the Titans were engaged in a war.
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Yash Dayal made his debut for Uttar Pradesh back in 2018, but he made a mark only recently during the 2021-22 edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In seven matches, Dayal picked up 14 wickets at an economy rate of 3.77. He also picked up a five-wicket haul against Hyderabad.
On the back of his spell, UP bowled Hyderabad for 149 in 42.5 overs at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur. Thereafter, UP, led by Karan Sharma, tracked down the target in 26 overs with 144 balls to spare.
In UP, Dayal played alongside the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Team India’s stalwart in limited-overs cricket, Ankit Rajpoot and Shivam Mavi, the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. In 14 List A matches, Dayal has picked up 23 wickets at an economy of 4.49.
Yash Dayal made his T20 debut back in 2016 in the match against Maharashtra in Delhi. In 15 T20Is thus far, the speedster has picked up as many wickets at a decent economy rate of 7.21. Dayal has also picked up 45 wickets from 12 games with one five-wicket haul to his name.
Dayal coming the ranks
Dayal, a resident of Karbala area of Prayagraj, studied at the Kendriya Vidyalaya. Thereafter, he graduated in psychology from Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS).
Dayal’s father, Chandarpal Dayal is a former government employee. Before getting called up as backup for the West Indies series, Dayal had to do the hard yards. The seamer has plied his trade for UP at a number of national tournaments.
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Yash was picked to play for the Uttar Pradesh state U23 teams before breaking into the senior teams. On the back of his performances, UP also played the final of the previous edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It now remains to be seen if he can step up for the Titans amidst a number of big names in the cricket world.