Yash Dayal: 'If that Rinku over hadn't happened to me, I don't know if I might be here today'

When Yash Dayal helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru seal a spot in the 2024 IPL playoffs by defending 17 in the last over against Chennai Super Kings, his performance was widely described as redemption for failing to defend 29 against Rinku Singh and Kolkata Knight Riders in 2023

Earlier this year Dayal, 26, impressed the selectors enough with his skills in white-ball and first-class cricket to be given a fast-bowling contract. And this month, he got his maiden Test call-up when he was picked in India's squad to play the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. Dayal talks here about how he struggled to cope after the KKR match, his thoughts before bowling the final over against CSK, a significant conversation he had with Virat Kohli ahead of the 2024 IPL, and the cricketers who make up his support system.

You are one step closer to realising the dream of playing for India. What has it been like since you received the Test call-up?
In 2022 I was named in the Indian squad for the first time - for an ODI series in Bangladesh - but I couldn't make it due to injury. At the start of the Duleep Trophy [earlier this month], I was aware that there was a spot for a left-arm fast bowler in the Indian Test team. In the first innings, my bowling was normal [1 for 39 for India B against India A], though not to my satisfaction. But the way I bowled in the second innings [3 for 50], I believed I was a strong contender.

We comfortably won the match and my performance was very good. I was at the team hotel in Bangalore, watching TV, when I got a message from a friend saying I'd been selected in India's Test squad. I didn't believe him, but a little later I saw my name in the Test squad on BCCI's website.

Immediately I kept my phones aside to try to process what was happening inside me emotionally.

I had become too emotional, because getting a Test call-up is very big. I started recalling my journey across the years. I then called my family: my mother and my sister were equally emotional, tears of joy were rolling down their faces. I spoke to my dad in the evening. It was like a festival at home. A lot of people had gathered and the dhol and nagare [types of drums] were being played.

The BCCI fast-bowling contract you got earlier this year - was that the first signal that you were in the India management's plans?
I was already in the targeted pool after the 2022 IPL. But now, getting a fast-bowling contract given to a select few - I was aware that if I do well in domestic cricket, it could be easy to get the India call-up.

At first I wasn't aware what exactly happens with players in the targeted pool. But soon I understood that everything about my game would be looked after and monitored by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). That includes not just my bowling but my workload, training sessions, how much strain was on my body.

A lot has changed in the last two years. When I see senior players from up close, when I talk to them, I notice [that some of them] travel with personal chefs, they measure what they eat, how much rice they consume, how much protein had, things to avoid to enhance their training. When I see them looking that lean, it naturally motivates me.

In the 2023 IPL, after that match against KKR, I became slightly weak and my focus wasn't there. But slowly I started to cope with what had happened. After that I made a set-up so I would not turn back - whether it be in training or my diet, I would be so clear that when I make the comeback, I would leave no stone unturned. I took the decision to focus on the assignments given to me and the targets I need to meet. Because of that I now feel that this call-up has come at the best time.

Your sister, Suchi, is a nutritionist. What role has she played in your career?
Didi [older sister] has had a huge role in my career. When my father was not financially stable, she would buy me spikes and other things. We come from a lower-middle-class family. When I was in class 9 or 10, my father was demoted in his job. Didi used to earn Rs 10,000 -12,000 [approx US$120-140 today] per month and manage my cricket requirements. And from childhood, she has been keeping tabs on what I eat. If I make my way towards sweets, she'll take them away from me.

In an interview earlier this year, you talked about being forced to introspect after everything that happened following that over to Rinku Singh where he hit five sixes. Can you talk about how it affected you?
My family had to bear the brunt. My mother couldn't believe such things could happen to her son. During that phase my family suffered acute anxiety, and at times they stopped eating. I kept telling them that as a cricketer there will be off days and good days. I will perform sometimes and sometimes I won't. They shouldn't be scared about what happened or what will happen.

I was told [by my friends and Titans' coaches] not to go onto social media after that game, but I did and I was highly impacted by what was being said about me. But as they say, a good support structure comes in handy at such times. My family supported me. I supported them. I would also like to give credit to my state team [Uttar Pradesh], who never made me feel like I was not fit to be part of the playing XI. Then RCB picked me [for the 2024 IPL] and backed me.

I also heard Wasim Akram saying [after Dayal's final over against CSK] that it was "written in the stars". I feel that if that [Rinku over] hadn't happened to me, I don't know if I might have come here today.

When did that over stop playing on your mind?
To be honest, even today it plays in the back of my mind frequently. Earlier I would be scared, but now I enjoy confronting any situation.

"When you play at this level, I feel it is 80% a mental game and the rest is your physical work"

You said a team-mate helped you move on from it. Can you tell us who it was?
It was Saurabh Kumar [UP left-arm spinner]. Saurabh bhai is like my elder brother. He has 300-plus first-class wickets and has been a part of the Indian set-up. He and two other UP team-mates - Samarth Singh and Aryan Juyal - are part of my support group who don't judge me whatever my performance be. When I speak to Saurabh bhai especially, I never second-guess what I should say - I just tell him what I feel like. He is a true motivator for me after my papa and mummy.

After the incident [Rinku over], a lot of people told me various things, but Saurabh bhai stressed to me: At this point it is very important you don't allow your mind to dominate you. If you allow that to happen, you will lose the battle on various fronts. It took me a while, but I gradually understood the meaning of what he had said. When you play at this level, I feel it is 80% a mental game and the rest is your physical work.

If you were to bowl that over again, what would you do differently?
If I learned something from that over, it is that I was in a rush to complete it. After the [first] three balls [that went for 1, 6, 6], I went blank. In those three deliveries, I failed to bowl a single yorker. I just wanted that over to finish and to get to the dressing room somehow.

If I bowl that over again, even if I am hit for sixes at the beginning, I will use my heart and mind. When I go back to the bowling mark, I will bowl the next ball after taking the time to think about what I want to bowl. I am confident that will give me the feeling that there is a 99% chance of my plan working, but the eventual result is not in my hands. And I will not regret that I couldn't do something. At least I would feel that I tried hard.

You did that against Super Kings when you bowled the final over to help RCB make it to the playoffs in the 2024 IPL. CSK needed to score 17 to qualify.
I think I was at short third man or short fine leg when Mahi bhai [MS Dhoni] hit Lockie [Ferguson] for a four in the 19th over [CSK scored 18 in that over]. At that point there was this anxiety in my head. I hoped CSK would need a lot of runs in the final over. There was this hadbadahat [panic] inside me that the match should get over as soon as possible. I was also thinking: Why do I always get stuck in such situations? Why do I have to always bowl the main overs?

Now I understand that I bowl the main overs because the team needs me. I am the main guy who can win the match. When I went in to bowl that over, I told Faf [du Plessis, RCB captain] that my plan was to bowl the yorker, even though I had struggled to get those going as well as the slower balls in that game. When Mahi bhai hit the first ball out of the ground, the ball never came back - it was that big a six. It was a blessing in disguise that the ball had to be changed, since we were struggling to grip the first one.

Until then we were not concerned by the change of ball. The biggest thing on our mind was that we had been penalised for a slow over rate and so there were five fielders inside the 30-yard circle. So apart from my inner doubts, all these factors were playing in my head.

After that first-ball six, Virat [Kohli] bhaiya told me that I had to bowl the slower ball. He told me to take my time between deliveries, not to worry about what happened, that we still had enough runs to defend easily, but that I needed to believe in myself. Only then could I deliver.

I took a deep breath, told myself I need to use my head and bowl well. The second ball was a slower one. Mahi bhai hit to deep square leg, where Swapnil Singh took a very good catch. I didn't celebrate because somewhere deep down there was this feeling that this could be the last IPL match for Mahi bhai. He was walking back quite angry at himself.

[For the third ball], I bowled a slower bouncer to Shardul bhai [Shardul Thakur], which I had again discussed with Virat bhai. It was a dot ball. The next two balls I bowled as per my plan. By now I realised the ball was gripping [the surface]. The fourth ball was a single. With ten needed off the last two, I bowled exactly where I had planned to bowl [on length, outside off stump] against Jaddu bhai [Ravindra Jadeja], and he was beaten. That was the most important ball - it was perfect, it was not wide, it dipped, didn't come close to his bat, and it was a dot.

Before running in for the last ball, the only thought was I shouldn't bowl a no-ball. In fact, I might have bowled from a foot behind the popping crease to avoid it.