Yash Dayal of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Photo: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images) NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have started preparations for the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. While some of India’s top stars led by Virat Kohli have been present, bowler Yash Dayal remains a notable absentee. He was not seen with the group on the first day of camp on March 18 and continues to be missing in action.
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Jay Shah calls 2019 to 2026 as the golden era of Indian cricketRajat Patidar, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma, Suyash Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the prominent names set to defend the title under the coaching staff led by Andy Flower, but Dayal’s mysterious absence has already raised eyebrows.Pictures of the RCB team bus are doing the rounds on social media and Dayal is also not seen in them. Additionally, many of the franchise’s social media posts do not mention the pitcher.In a video uploaded on Instagram by his wife Shweta Pundir, Dayal can be seen receiving a toss from the side-arm specialist, but he seemed far away from the action in Bengaluru.
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TimesofIndia.com has reached out to several RCB officials for an update on Dayal, but they are yet to respond. The franchise retained the cricketer for Rs 5 crore before the mini-auction in Jeddah last year and received considerable backlash due to a legal case against the cricketer at the time.Dayal’s last competitive appearance was in June 2025 when he played for RCB in the IPL final against Punjab Kings. The bowler has since been retired from competitive cricket. Uttar Pradesh did not consider him throughout the home season. It is learned that the BCCI Center of Excellence had contacted the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) last September to inspect the bowler, but the officials could not make contact with him. “The case was against him, so his selection was not considered. I remember there was a call from the CoE in September checking him, but we couldn’t make any contact with Yash Dayal. He even changed his number. Even his childhood coach doesn’t know his whereabouts,” a UPCA official told TimesofIndia.com. It remains to be seen whether or not he figures for RCB in this year’s IPL.
