Riyan Parag was in the mood to attack. Having arrived in the second over of India A's chase of 275 against India B in the first round of the Duleep Trophy on Sunday, the Assam batter hit a six in the following over, bowled by Mukesh Kumar, off just the second delivery he faced. In the sixth over, Parag then short-arm jabbed Uttar Pradesh left-arm fast bowler Yash Dayal over deep midwicket for another six.
By the time Dayal came back for his fourth over, Parag had charged and smashed another six off Mukesh, racing away to 31 off 17 balls, with India A on 51 for 1 in seven overs.
In pursuit of 275, Parag laid out India A's plan: be aggressive, no need to ponder at the crease. Dayal went around the stumps and wide of the crease for his first ball of the eighth over. The ball pitched on that attacking length where bowling coaches draw a box or place a shoe at practice. The angle created by Dayal forced Parag to poke at the ball which had started to shape away after pitching. Rishabh Pant completed the catch as Dayal squealed in the departing Parag's ears.
Parag was one of the three wickets Dayal picked up to make early dents into India A batting line-up. Dayal also dismissed Agarwal and Dhruv Jurel, both of whom poked at away-going deliveries, which were bowled from over the stumps.
For Abhimanyu Easwaran, the India B captain, Parag's dismissal was the turning point. "That was a quality ball," Easwaran said. "We knew Riyan was going to counterattack although on a pitch like that it was not easy. But he was going really well, which was proving challenging for our [new ball] bowlers. But Yash said he wanted to go around [the wicket] to create the angle which brings both the edges in play. To get the ball to pitch and go away from around is very challenging. It was a great ball to set up the game for us because we weren't expecting any other [India A batter] to counterattack."
Such smarts have earned Dayal his maiden Test call-up for the upcoming two-match home Test series against Bangladesh, which starts in Chennai from September 19. With an eye on the following five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will run from November 22 to January 7, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel was keen to have a left-armer in the fast-bowling pack. Hence, in addition to Dayal, they trained their lens on Arshdeep Singh and Khaleel Ahmed, both of whom have represented India in white-ball cricket.
As far as Dayal is concerned, it is learned the selectors felt he was very skillful and that he has turned a corner, having worked on his fitness in the last few years. All of this contributed to him playing in the unofficial Test series for India A against England Lions earlier this January besides playing regularly for Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy for the last two years.
The logic of picking a left-arm seamer remains the same as ever: he brings variety to the bowling attack with his ability to generate various angles and swing at good speed, which is among Dayal's primary strengths.
Those who have followed Dayal's career from close quarters, such as Easwaran and Uttar Pradesh head coach Sunil Joshi, have praised the 26-year-old from Allahabad for his consistency and ability to bowl on all kinds of surfaces. Easwaran, the Bengal opener and an India A regular, who has played with and faced Dayal in the nets, counts the left-armer's ability to "control" the swing both ways, with the new as well as the old ball, as one of his strengths.
"He is a smart bowler. Having control with the swing is a big strength for him," Easwaran said. "He uses a lot of angles, comes around the wicket and has the ability to take the ball away from the right hander from that angle which [for the batter] is quite challenging."
Easwaran says Dayal also can swing the ball into the right-hander, again with control, which makes him a dangerous bowler. "As well as with the old ball, with a good wrist position, he is able to land the ball on the seam which then can challenge the batter with movement."
Dayal made his first-class debut for UP in the 2018-19 season when he bagged 30 wickets at an average of 24.70. His impressive spells in the 2021-22 Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he was the best bowler for Uttar Pradesh, was noticed by IPL franchise scouts before he got his maiden IPL contract when Gujarat Titans paid INR 3.2 crore after warding off competition from two other teams at the auction. Dayal shared the new ball with Mohammed Shami in the nine matches he played, picked up 11 wickets, and played a role in Titans winning the IPL in their first season.
In a chat with ESPNcricinfo before the Ranji Trophy semi-finals in June 2022, Dayal thanked Titans head coach Ashish Nehra for not just teaching him bowling skills but also for making him mentally stronger in the face of pressure in T20s. Such a moment, one that would nearly break Dayal, came in IPL 2023 when his UP team-mate and good friend Rinku Singh ransacked five sixes in a single over to do the impossible.
Talking to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the franchise he joined in IPL 2024, Dayal said that one over brought him "face to face with reality", and taught him several things. Dayal was the standout bowler for RCB, who bounced back after torrid first half to make the IPL 2024 playoffs, where they lost the Eliminator.
Dayal said Saurav Chauhan, his RCB team-mate and Gujarat batter, had told him to enjoy pressure and that proved telling ultimately.
A nerveless Dayal dismissing MS Dhoni with a slower delivery to seal a playoff berth for RCB, after having been clobbered out of the stadium for a monstrous six, was a mark of how far he'd come between the two IPL seasons.
Standing about six feet tall, Dayal runs in the mould of his idol Zaheer Khan, the last Indian left-arm fast bowler who played Test cricket regularly. Dayal's average speed is in the 130-135 kph region and he also has both a sharp bouncer and yorker to ally with his swing. The Indian team management brought Dayal in as a net bowler and used these skills to prepare them for the white-ball series at home against West Indies in early 2022. Earlier this year, Dayal was part of the set of fast bowlers shortlisted by selectors to be awarded development contracts by BCCI.
Having been an India selector between 2020-22, Joshi, who since has worked as UP coach, has followed Dayal's progress closely. The selection panel, which Joshi had been part of, had also included Dayal in the set of targeted pool of domestic fast bowlers the BCCI could look after in terms of fitness and growth with guidance from the National Cricket Academy.
"Yash has shown the keenness to improve as a bowler," Joshi said. "I remember him being on the bulkier side, but now he has shed a lot of weight and is fit. He played back-to-back Tests for India A in January against England Lions and followed that up by playing Ranji match against Andhra immediately. That showed the commitment from his side."
Around mid-January, during the first part of the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy, Joshi had been alerted by Agarkar to keep Dayal free for the England Lions series with the plan of having him play two unofficial Tests. Joshi was not surprised. "Bowling-wise, Yash is consistent in his lengths, both in red-ball and white-ball formats," Joshi said. "Among the left-arm fast bowlers currently in India, he is bowling really well, is tactically sharp. He can bowl long spells, doesn't drop speeds and has a brilliant slower delivery. And he has shown that hunger to do well that has impressed me the most. Yash is very sincere, honest and has a good work ethic now."
Only 14 left-arm fast bowlers have played for India so far in Test cricket. Since Zaheer retired in 2014, only T Natarajan and Jaydev Unadkat have played Test cricket for India. The selectors and Indian team management believe a left-arm fast bowler can make a difference as part of the fast-bowling attack. Dayal's call-up is a signal that the selectors believe he is ready to be in the mix.