"Helped me get in touch with reality....": RCB's Yash on Rinku's five sixes in his over during IPL 2023

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 9 : Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Yash Dayal opened up on his career-altering final over for Gujarat Titans (GT) against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year, in which Rinku Singh smashed him for five successive sixes to finish off a tense run-chase.
In the IPL last year, KKR was given the task of chasing 205 runs against GT at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. The Knights needed 29 in the last over bowled by Dayal. After Umesh Yadav took a single on the first ball, Rinku sent Yash's next five deliveries into the skies to seal a memorable win for India.
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While Rinku's career trajectory changed following that feat, turning him into an overnight sensation who would soon wear Team India colours, Yash did not feature in his side's next few games. He would go on to play only two more games later, taking two wickets across those matches.
The bowler became the talk of the town for the wrong reasons and was subjected to social media trolling, abuse and memes. Someone who was rated highly after taking 11 wickets in nine matches in GT's title-winning season in 2022 had faced a cricketing tragedy that could have sent his career into obscurity.
Talking about that over, Yash said that he was supposed to bowl the second last over during the game, but the captain and management decided to hand him the ball in the final over. He also revealed that he was sick before this game and had very little game time. Following this game, his health deteriorated.
"The 2022 IPL was really good for me. I was selected for India's Bangladesh tour on the basis of my performance. But I was injured, unfortunately. Before IPL 2023, I had not played even a single match due to injury. In the three IPL matches before that KKR game, I had bowled just one over in those games. I felt I was not completely match-ready. During the start of the tournament, I felt sick and got viral. But I kept pushing myself to play," recalled Nitish in a video posted on RCB's Instagram handle.
"After that KKR match happened, my health deteriorated. I was supposed to bowl the second last over in the match and was asked to bowl the last over. I was unprepared. Had I been honest with myself and talked to the management, I could have played more matches later and missed that game, but such ifs and buts exist in cricket," he added.
Reflecting on the learnings that particular over gave him, Yash said that it gave him a "big learning" and prepared him for things he was unprepared for.
"It helped me get in touch with reality. It taught me how to tackle situations," he added.
He also said that the team management of GT was so good that they did not let that over affect him and the team environment and it was as if everyone had forgotten it happened. Yash also recalled the words of his head coach, Ashish Nehra, encouraging him to focus on the future.
"It is a part of life. Such days come in the lives of players. Everyone came to console me. After the match, when I went to the dressing room, the environment at GT was such that they did not even discuss that. They just went about their business as if nothing like that had happened. Ashish Nehra would always tell me that - what has happened has happened, but now focus on what is ahead," said Yash.
Yash recalled that after that devastating over, his mother was really hurt and could not eat for days. He also recalled how Rinku, whom he considers a brother, stayed in touch with him. However, he was subjected to social media trolling and abuse.
"I kept speaking to my family but my mother was hurt a lot and did not eat for days. My mother is really emotional. After the match, Rinku texted me how it was going, it felt good. I accepted it sportingly. But I should have heard the advice from my seniors, who told me to stay away from social media since it has become so abusive," said Yash.
Yash is from a humble background, with his father a retired government job-holder and his mother a housewife. His cricket idol is former pacer Zaheer Khan. He also recalled that his father also played cricket. The 26-year-old also recalled his early struggles in cricket, while attempting to break into state cricket, which led him to depression.
"My father used to play some cricket, along with players like Mohammed Azharuddin, Sunil Gavaskar, etc. But injuries and financial issues stalled his career, he always wanted me to play cricket," said the pacer.
"My idol has been Zaheer Khan. When I was six years old, I attended my first trials. Despite my efforts, I would not get selected. In 2017, I got depressed because of my career going nowhere despite my efforts. The U-23 camp happened, and I took 10-11 wickets in 3-4 matches of the camp. This was my first experience of professional cricket. When I came to Ranji for Uttar Pradesh, there was Rinku, who had debuted before me. We are not friends, but brothers," he added.
Dayal was bought by RCB in the auctions held last year for Rs 5 crores. He said that he is really happy to share the dressing room with star batter Virat Kohli, something he had never thought of.
"I am very happy to be a part of RCB. It is different to be an RCB player. I never thought I would get an opportunity to share the dressing room with Virat Kohli bhaiya and play with him. Playing with Virat bhaiya, it is a dream come true moment for me. Going forward, I want to play for my country. It is the ultimate dream. I will keep fighting for it and do everything in my power," concluded Yash.
In five matches for RCB this year, he has taken five wickets at an average of 31.6 and an economy rate of 8.31. His best bowling figures are 1/23. RCB will next take on Mumbai Indians (MI) on Thursday. The team is desperately searching for a win and is in ninth place in the points table with two points.