Yash Dayal says he fell ill following the online hatred he received after being hit for five sixes by Rinku Singh

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s bowler Yash Dayal celebrates the wicket of Chennai Super Kings’ Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bowler Yash Dayal shared the trauma he had to go through because of the online abuse he received after Rinku Singh hit him for five sixes in last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

“Match ke baad mai jab gaya waapis toh mujhe kaafi problem hui, mereko mana kiya gaya tha ki social media mar dekhna. But maine dekh liya (Yash Dayal said “After GT v KKR game, I was asked not to see the social media but I still went on),” Dayal told Mohammed Siraj after the match.

“Hurt hua ki log kya scohte hai, hum kis background se aata hai aur khelte hai. Do teen din mey meri tabiyat kharab ho gayi thi (I felt hurt about what people think of me, hurts more when they don’t realise what background I come from & play cricket. I feel ill after the match),” he added.

Siraj asked Dayal, what he did to cope up with the setback, the bowler replied: “In hindsight, I know I was not the first person who has faced this situation so I worked on the process rather than the outside noise”.

The left-arm seamer was impressive against Punjab Kings on his home debut at the Chinnaswamy Stadium as he returned with the bowling figure of 1/23 from his four overs.

The Rinku show

Dayal, who was part of the Gujarat Titans for the last two seasons was hit for five sixes by Kolkata Knight Riders Rinku Singh.

With 29 to defend in the last over, Dayal was buoyant and cheerful. Only once has a team scored more than these many runs to win a game in the IPL – that game of Rahul Tewatia fame. Such finishes, though, are rare and freakish.

But Rinku had something else in his mind as he hit his fellow Uttar Pradesh teammate for five sixes to seal the victory for KKR from the jaw of defeat.

The family support

On that day Dayal might have prayed for the ground beneath him to crack and devour him. He kept over-compensating and was Rinku kept on bludgeoning him all over the park.

As soon as Yash’s final ball was walloped for a six to trigger celebrations in Rinku Singh’s household in Aligarh, Yash’s father Chandarpal had switched off the television in Allahabad.

Soon, however, he learned from his close ones that Dayal was seen in tears on television. Chandarpal Dayal, his father decided to step in to help out his vulnerable son “who doesn’t talk or show emotions much”.

“Ghabraana nahi (Don’t get scared),” he told Yash. “I then said: “This is not some new thing in cricket. Bowlers getting hit. It has happened to big bowlers. Just do hard work, see where you made mistakes, but remember this is not the first time it has happened in cricket. Big players like Malinga, Stuart Broad have gone through the situation.”