'It Ticks a Lot of Boxes': RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat Calls Yash Dayal a 'Slightly Different Pick'

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) spent a hefty amount of INR 5 crore to have the services of uncapped fast bowler Yash Dayal. It was a surprising move for many, given the left-arm pacer’s record in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Representing the Gujarat Titans, Dayal got 5 games and picked up just a couple of wickets. His worst outing came against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a group-stage game in which he was smashed for five consecutive sixes by Rinku Singh, thus failing to defend 29 runs in the final over.

After a nightmarish IPL season, Dayal returned to the domestic circuit and redeemed himself with decent performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy followed by the recently-concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023. He picked 7 wickets in as many games in the domestic tournament and bagged 9 wickets in 6 games in the One-Dayers.

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Despite releasing him from the squad, the Gujarat Titans went behind Dayal at the players’ auction on Wednesday. However, it was the RCB who cracked the deal. Mo Bobat, the franchise’s Director of Cricket, called Dayal’s purchase a ‘slightly different pick’.

“It ticks a lot of boxes with Yash Dayal, obviously a slightly different pick in that sense. We like the left-arm angle; we like the fact that he moves the ball up front. We want to make sure we’ve got the right battery of bowlers domestically that can supplement the likes of Alzarri,” Bobat said in the press conference.

‘Delighted to have Alzarri Joseph’

Bobat further stated that the purchase of Alzarri Joseph, for INR 11.5 crore, was a ‘good judgement call. Recently released by the Gujarat Titans, the Caribbean fast bowler has so far played 19 IPL games and has 20 wickets to his credit.

“He [Joseph] was in our top three targets. From an overseas pace bowling perspective, you’re always trying to navigate through the auction order, which makes things slightly tricky. We made a good judgment call, I think, to bring forward our interest in Alzarri and to have a good go at him because he’s a player that we really like now with Alzarri, he bowls at high pace, he’s got a high release point, so he gets bounce. We know bounce is important at the Chinnaswamy [Stadium],” Bobat said.

“He’s also got fantastic death skills. You look at his record and he’s stacks up against anyone at the death. He’s also someone that’s playing regular international cricket all around the world and franchises all around the world. So he’s someone that can adapt to conditions and surfaces. And he’s someone also that the captain knows really well. So Faf [du Plessis] and him have a really good relationship and they’ve got a real trusted dynamic between them,” he added.