Bengaluru: Last year when Royal Challengers Bengaluru chose to retain an uncapped Yash Dayal instead of seasoned practitioner Mohammed Siraj, the decision left everyone mystified despite sound reasoning from the management.
Since his arrival at Royal Challengers in 2018, Siraj had not only gone on to become the frontline seamer for the franchise but his stock in the Indian team too had risen concurrently – the 31-year-old forming the core of a riveting pace attack in all three formats.
Wayward at the start of his career, the Hyderabadi ended up becoming one of the most incisive bowlers in the world – his natural pace, swing and heart earning plaudits all over.
Investing on him was guaranteed returns even considering the fickle nature of the T20 format, where one day a bowler can be the star with a game-changing spell and another day taken to the cleaners. Take this season too where Siraj is leading the Gujarat Titans attack with gusto, bagging 14 wickets in 10 games.
However, the RCB think-tank opted to pin their faith on the raw Dayal. While his performance in 2024, where the 27-year-old scalped 15 wickets and delivered a stunning final over in their concluding league game against Chennai Super Kings played a major part in their decision, it was his left-arm action, variety and ability to deliver under pressure that endeared the wise men.
Like most left-arm pacers in the world, Uttar Pradesh’s Dayal has the requisite ammunition in his arsenal – the in-swinger and out-swinger, a slower knuckleball delivery, a potent yorker and a sharp bouncer. He can be effective at the beginning and potent at the death. But beyond all this, what gives him the unique edge is the courage to stay strong even when the going gets tough.
Like in the clash against CSK last year where despite getting hammered for a monstrous six off the first ball of the final over by the imperious Dhoni, he showed nerves of steel to dismiss the taslimanic wicketkeeper off the very next ball. He then gave away just one run over the next four balls to send a raucous crowd at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium into delirium as RCB sneaked into the play-offs at their arch-rivals’ expense.
He replicated the same on Saturday night, who else but Dhoni out in the middle. Following a good start to the over where he gave away just two runs and the wicket of Dhoni off the first three balls, he delivered a waist-high no-ball that was belted for a six by Shivam Dube. In an instant, the equation was reduced to 6 off 3, the pendulum swinging back to CSK.
Dayal, who in the 2023 season got smashed for five consecutive sixes in the final over by Rinku Singh as Kolkata Knight Riders pulled off a heist against Gujarat Titans, showed what a strong character he has developed into. He didn’t err one bit over the next three balls, bowling it full and wide outside the off-stump, giving no room for either Dube or Ravindra Jadeja to open their shoulders or get under the ball to clobber it.
The moment the win was sealed, he set off on his customary long celebratory run, vindicating the faith the RCB management had put on him. “It will take a humongous effort to stop them scoring the runs that were left in the last over. But Yash being Yash, he delivered,” a delighted RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik said at post-match comments on TV.
“He is right up there with some of the best in India. Yash is again someone who is very diligent. He will come to meetings with a piece of paper. In the same game, one year ago, he did it for us and tonight, he did it again for us.”
With RCB closing in on a play-off spot and searching for that elusive crown, they’ll be banking on Dayal to keep delivering in such clutch moments. It’s such decisive performances in crunch moments that define a champion — team or player.