24-year-old Uttar Pradesh seamer Yash Dayal sparked a bidding war at the IPL 2022 mega-auction. Kolkata Knight Riders were the first to raise the paddle for the left-arm pacer, with the Royal Challengers Bangalore also joining in.
Soon the price had shot up to 75 lakh after which Gujarat Titans, one of the two new franchises, chimed in with their bid as KKR backed out. The tussle continued between RCB and GT with the latter finally securing the services of Dayal when RCB pulled out at a whopping price of INR 3.2 crore!
The Titans, who have had a good bowling attack, added the young uncapped Yash Dayal to their setup and looked pleased with their fresh acquisition.
Dayal was amongst the top ten wicket-takers in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021/22. He snared 14 wickets in 7 matches for UP at a brilliant average of 17.35 while conceding parsimoniously at 3.77 per over and formed a strong bowling pair with Shivam Mavi and Ankit Rajpoot in Uttar Pradesh’s run till the semi-finals.
In the tournament, Dayal had wreaked havoc against Hyderabad, returning with eye-catching figures of 5/31, after having started the tournament with a three-for against Saurashtra.
Overall, Dayal has played in 12 first-class games picking up 45 wickets at 27. In white-ball cricket, he has bowled in 28 innings and managed 38 scalps.
Known for swinging the ball in both directions, Dayal made his List A debut for UP against Chattisgarh in the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy and was impressive although his team managed just one win in 8 games then.
Soon after, he turned up for his first-class debut against Goa in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy. UP made it to the quarterfinals where they lost to Saurashtra by six wickets.
He had made an impact by then on the team selectors and he soon made his T20 debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019. Dayal was also part of India’s ODI squad against West Indies as a backup option.
Interestingly, Dayal had also been called up by Mumbai Indians in 2019 in their camp to showcase his talent and ability. Although Dayal may not get an IPL game, he will learn plenty from other Gujarat Titans pacers including Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph.
