‘Rs 5 Crore In Drain’: Father of RCB star Yash Dayal, whose last knockout of CSK, remembers brutal taunts

It has been a difficult journey for fast bowler Yash Dayal in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The cricketer from Uttar Pradesh joined Gujarat Titans for IPL 2023 but ended up having a horror run. The moment that made him a household name was truly unfortunate as Rinku Singh hit him for five consecutive sixes to give the Kolkata Knight Riders a sensational victory. He became the target of Internet memes and things got worse when he was picked by Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a whopping sum of Rs 5 crore ahead of IPL 2024. The Internet was abuzz with people claiming that RCB wasted their money, but Yash Dayal proved everything the critics got wrong with a match-winning performance against CSK.

In an interview with Indian ExpressYash Dayal’s father Chandarpal spoke about the taunts and trolling the family had to face after the pacer’s disappointing show for the Gujarat Titans.

“In one of the WhatsApp groups, someone I know shared a meme mocking Yash for conceding five sixes and I still remember what he wrote with the image ‘Prayagraj Express ki kahaani shuru hone se pehle hi khatam ho gayi (The story of Prayagraj The Express is over before it even starts),” he said.

“It never stopped, we as a family literally left every WhatsApp group except our family’s. Even when RCB picked him in the auction for Rs 5 crore, I remember someone saying ‘Paise naale mei baha aaye Bangalore waale (The franchise threw the money down the drain)’. We live in a world where even if you disconnect from social media, you will end up seeing all kinds of things,” he added.

Yash Dayal managed to maintain his composure against famous cricketers like MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja as RCB defeated CSK to book their place in the IPL 2024 playoffs.

“Everyone wrote him off. And today I’m receiving several calls and messages of congratulations. Still, no one talks about his hard work, his routine and the way he faced the pressure. The slower the bouncer he developed, the more variations he learned last year. The way he bowled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where even the lead goes for six. But it’s okay because within a year, we as a family realized that cricket is actually a fun game,” he concluded.