It was not just any other day for UP pacer Yash Dayal. He was at his hotel room in Gurugram—his base of operations for the Ranji Trophy, and he wasted no time in switching on the TV as soon as the two-day IPL auctions began. Then came the moment he was waiting for. Presenter Charu Sharma announced his name, and everything changed forever.
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Dayal, who listed himself at a base prize of 20 lakh, wasn’t expecting anything special, but his fate had other ideas. Gujarat Titans had to bid aggressively to seal the deal for the 24-year-old as other two franchises KKR and RCB were after him. In the end, they backed out as he was bought for INR 3.2 cr. “It left me in shock for a few seconds. I pinched myself to see if it was real,” Dayal told Hindustan Times.
“My focus at the auction was to get a chance to play IPL, I was keen to be selected even on base price. Gujarat Titans made my day in the end. It’s a big opportunity for me to play in IPL.”
Being lanky, Dayal can extract good bounce from lifeless Indian pitches. He also is very very quick. Yes, that’s the reason Gujarat Titans wanted him so badly. He can consistently clock around 140 KPH. “I love bowling fast and my height gives me the advantage to bowl with accuracy. I like to let a batter feel about the pace of delivery.”
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Dayal has played 12 first-class games, besides 14 List A matches and 15 T20s for UP since making his professional debut in September 2018. He was part of the Indian senior cricket team’s bio-bubble as a back-up bowler, underlining his talent , ahead of the ODI series against West Indies in Ahmedabad.
He was released after it was confirmed that BCCI is not keen on postponing Ranji Trophy. At Vijay Hazare, he took 14 wickets in seven matches at an impressive average of 17.35 and economy of 3.77.
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