Yash Dayal back in the Uttar Pradesh Ranji Trophy camp

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh pacer Yash Dayal has been included in the state’s Ranji Trophy camp after being out of competitive cricket for the past 16 months.“Yash Dayal is available for selection this year. He has tried and performed well in practice matches. He will be included in the Ranji Trophy camp,” Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) CEO Ankit Chatterjee told TimesofIndia.com.The Uttar Pradesh Ranji Trophy camp will be held at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow from Friday (September 25).Earlier this year, the 28-year-old Dayal applied for a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the UPCA and was all set to play for Chhattisgarh in the 2026-27 domestic season. However, the move did not materialize as the UPCA gave him an assurance that he would get a chance to play for Uttar Pradesh again.Dayal has not played any competitive cricket since the IPL 2025 final. With Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dayal formed a three-pronged attack that played a key role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) lifting their maiden IPL trophy. Dayal took 13 wickets that season. The left-arm seamer was then retained by RCB ahead of IPL 2026, but he did not join the team and missed the entire season. RCB director of cricket Mo Bobat told a press conference: “It was not in the best interest of Dayal or RCB to select him because of his personal situation.”In the UP T20 League, Dayal was retained by Gorakhpur Lions and it is learned that the Allahabad-born cricketer has also started training with the franchise’s retained players. However, he was not included in the 18-man squad later.“He looks in good form. He has done exceptionally well in Test matches and if given a chance, he is ready to play,” said Amit Pal, Dayal’s coach during his formative years.Ranji Trophy 2026-27 will start on October 11. Uttar Pradesh’s first match of the season will be against Bihar starting on October 11 at the newly constructed Rajgir International Stadium.