'Yash Dayal is our main bowler, ' said RCB captain Rajat Patidar after Dayal defended 15 in the last over to pave the way for a thrilling two-run win over CSK. That's a significant comeback by a man who was hit for five consecutive sixes by Rinku Singh in IPL 2023. Dayal was dropped from the team following the onslaught, and his career was in jeopardy. He got a lifeline when RCB roped him for IPL 2024 and later retained him ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.

Virat Kohli played a big role in Yash Dayal's rise as one of RCB's premier bowlers. Kohli wasn't the captain of RCB, but he was very involved with the players. After Dayal joined RCB, Kohli took him under his wings and restored his confidence. The revelation was made by Yash Dayal's father, Chhanderpal.

"Virat Kohli has supported him a lot. When Yash joined RCB, Virat would often call him to his room — and sometimes, he would go to Yash’s room himself. They discussed that over [from 2024], and Virat told him one thing: ‘Keep working hard, toofan macha de. Main hoon tere saath. Chinta mat karna. Mehnat karna mat chhodna. Galtiyan karna, par seekhna aur aage badhna (Stir up a storm. I am with you. Don’t worry. Never stop working hard. Make mistakes, but learn from them and keep moving forward).' Virat has given him a lot of freedom and turned him into a fearless cricketer," Chanderpal Dayal told Times of India.

Dayal has been impressive for RCB, bowling in death overs and paving the way for crucial wins for RCB, who sit at the top of the points table with eight wins in 11 games. RCB have a foot in the IPL playoffs, and the title dream seems not far away.

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