In the days following Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s maiden IPL win, after the beat Punjab Kings by six runs in IPL 2025 Final in Ahmedabad, there has been plenty of cause for celebration for cricket fans all over the world, but especially amongst the players themselves. This extends especially to some players who have grown up watching Virat Kohli, idolised the great man, and now earnt an opportunity to play alongside him.
It was evident in RCB’s celebrations that this victory meant just a little bit more because the team could help Kohli finally get his hands on that elusive IPL trophy, after 18 long years. As Kohli broke down in tears, his teammates flooded towards him to celebrate.
Trying to explain the cause for such sentiment, Kohli’s teammate and one of RCB’s most important players in the last two years, Yash Dayal, spoke about how it was important to the players as well.
"Whatever is done for Virat bhaiya is very less. He has given this franchise 18 years and has seen so many ups and downs. And we are very happy to have won the trophy and want to repeat it in the future also,” said Dayal in an interview with Times of India.
Dayal was one of the three players RCB retained before the IPL 2025 season, with captain Rajat Patidar and Kohli himself being the other two. Having been part of RCB’s dramatic journey to the title, Dayal also played a crucial role once there, bowling the 18th over and only conceding 5 runs to ensure RCB were favourites for the match.
Dayal shares wisdom from Hazlewood
{{/usCountry}}Dayal was one of the three players RCB retained before the IPL 2025 season, with captain Rajat Patidar and Kohli himself being the other two. Having been part of RCB’s dramatic journey to the title, Dayal also played a crucial role once there, bowling the 18th over and only conceding 5 runs to ensure RCB were favourites for the match.
Dayal shares wisdom from Hazlewood
{{/usCountry}}Dayal also credited his senior pace bowling partners for the influence they had on his growth, picking out Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. “Bhuvi bhaiya and Josh Hazlewood joining the team after the auction made my work very easy. I was stress-free and as a unit, we followed simple bowling plans and stuck to them.”
Dayal also mentioned that Hazlewood in particular helped him tighten his game up, becoming more consistent with his lines and lengths and therefore more of a threat with the ball.
“What I have learned from Josh is to bowl at the perfect spot. The top of off-stump with pace. What we say is bowling on a coin without consistently being erratic,” concluded Dayal.