"We will make sure that he is..": Vijay Shankar On Yash Dayal After GT's Loss
Yash Dayal had a forgettable outing vs KKR (IPLT20.com)
In a spectacular encounter between the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Sunday, the home team’s left-arm pacer, Yash Dayal, faced intense scrutiny after failing to defend 29 runs in the final over of the match.
Despite a commendable effort by stand-in skipper, Rashid Khan, who claimed a hat-trick in the 17th over to rattle the KKR middle-order, Rinku Singh's staggering knock of 48 off 21 balls, with 30 runs coming off the last 5 balls of the game, proved to be the match-winning performance.
In the post-match press conference, GT all-rounder, Vijay Shankar, who himself shined with the bat, scoring 63 runs off 24 balls, vehemently defended Dayal's performance, urging critics not to judge a player based on a solitary over in a game.
He reminded everyone of the young bowler’s instrumental contribution to GT's title-winning campaign in the previous year's IPL, emphasizing that it takes years of hard work and dedication to reach the stage of the IPL.
"Last year, Yash Dayal bowled some very important overs for Gujarat Titans, to win us the tournament. You cannot define a player based on one over in a game," said Shankar.
The Tamil Nadu based cricketer further asserted that setbacks like these are common in the unpredictable format of T20s, and it is essential to support the young prodigy during these challenging times.
"These things are bound to happen and so many players have been in tough situation. We will make sure that he is in a very good mental space going forward," added the seasoned all-rounder.
The 32-year-old also acknowledged that Dayal's disappointing over was a significant turning point in the match, but he emphasized that GT was largely in control of the game until that moment.
Shankar also underscored the volatile nature of cricket, where anything can happen, and that it is crucial to maintain a positive mental attitude to overcome such setbacks. Finally, he concluded by affirming that the team will rally around the 25-year-old youngster and work towards getting him back into the right mental space for future matches.
"Till that particular point (20th over), we were much ahead in the game. As a cricketer, I can feel what he is feeling, and it is about how we back him and get him out of a tough situation," concluded Shankar.
 "Jatin")