"Virat Kohli called me to my room and.."- Yash Dayal goes unfiltered

Yash Dayal, the left-arm pacer, earned his maiden call-up to the Indian cricket team for the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh.

The 26-year-old earned the call-up on the back of his electrifying outing in IPL 2024 and a fantastic performance in the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2024.

The journey from the heartbreak of IPL 2023 to making it to India’s Test squad has been nothing short of cinematic.

After a stormy 2023 season, Dayal suffered a nightmare against Rinku Singh, going for five consecutive sixes during the Gujarat Titans (GT) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) match.

Yash Dayal reveals how Virat Kohli’s pep talk revived his career

After that match, Dayal was left heartbroken and thought everything was finished, but at this point, India’s cricketing icon Virat Kohli helped rescue him and help the pacer to revive his career.

Recently, Dayal recalled an instance when Kohli approached him with an unexpected invitation after Royal Challengers Bangaluru's (RCB) net session, as he was talking about his favorite Virat Kohli moment.

The RCB pacer revealed that Kohli invited him to his hotel room and gave him not just technical advice but a pep talk, which made him play the game the way he is doing now.

In a video posted by Gorakhpur Lions, Yash Dayal told Jatin Sapru: “When I was practicing in the ground, Virat bhaiya came and told Yash, I have some work with you for 5 minutes. Come to my room. I asked, ‘Yes, Bhaiya, what happened?”

He told me that we will back you the whole season: Yash Dayal

Kohli kicked off the conversation by referencing a challenging moment when Rinku hammered him for back-to-back five sixes. Kohli asked Dayal to forget about that incident. What started as a short discussion evolved into an in-depth mentoring session.

Virat Kohli shared personal stories from his career, offering Dayal not just advice but a sense of reassurance and enthusiasm. Kohli assured the Indian pacer that he will get the opportunities the whole season. But the former RCB skipper asked Dayal to enjoy his game on the field, and it worked.

Yash Dayal further recalled, “He said what happened with Rinku was his part, but from there, you don’t feel you are less. Then Kohli Bhaiya told his stories and connected with me; those 5 minutes became 15-20 minutes. I remember each and everything he said. He told me that we (RCB) will back you the whole season; that is why we picked you.

Whether you perform or don’t perform, but whenever you get down on the ground, you should be happy. You should be excited. After that, when I came back from his room, I had become a 2.0 version of myself.”

Here's how Yash Dayal revealed how Virat Kohli got the best of him:

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In the end, Yash Dayal noted that Virat Kohli’s on-screen persona seemed different, but his personal experience with the former Indian captain revealed a much different, more genuine side of the legend.

He is currently gearing up for the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh, starting on September 19 in Chennai.