Yash Dayal's parents proudly reflect on his journey to the Indian team

Prayagraj [India]: The parents of pacer Yash Dayal expressed their overwhelming joy and pride upon learning of their son's selection in the Indian team. They shared that seeing their 26-year-old son achieve his dream of representing his country is a momentous milestone that they had collectively hoped and prayed for.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Sunday announced the squad for the first Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh at home starting this month, with pacers Akash Deep and Yash Dayal included in the team and the latter receiving his first call-up. The first Test of two-match series will take place from September 19 onwards in Chennai.

After a two-year stint with Gujarat Titans from 2022-23, which saw him take 13 wickets in 14 games, lift the Indian Premier League title and even become a victim of Rinku Singh's death overs carnage during a match against Kolkata Knight Riders with five successive sixes, Dayal had a solid season in this year's league with Royal Challengers Bengaluru , as he took 18 wickets in 15 matches and delivered the over which helped the franchise complete six successive wins after a disastrous start to make it to the playoffs in a miracle.

Speaking to ANI, Yash's father Chandarpal, a cricketer himself at one point, said that ever since he was a kid, Yash was obsessed with only cricket and representing his country. He also said that his journey was not easy, as he faced tough challenges on the way, like not being selected for the U19 squad of Uttar Pradesh. But Yash fought through them all.

"First of all, it is a matter of pride for our family. When a kid starts playing, he dreams of representing the country. Now, he has earned a call-up to represent the nation. From a small city, he has come so far. There were many tough challenges in his life, but he kept fighting. He was always obsessed with cricket. When your focus is right, you will get success. I was a cricketer myself, he saw me play as a kid. Though he could not play for UP in U19, he was selected in U23 back in 2018 and since then, he has not looked back. He has been progressing consistently since then, be it in the Ranji Trophy, IPL etc. This dream of playing for India has also come true," said his father.

Chandarpal expressed hope that his son would go on to become one of the world's best bowlers.

Yash's mother Radha also told ANI, "It is a matter of happiness for us. This is a big deal for us. We are celebrating it all together. All family members have gathered and will be bursting firecrackers. We cannot express our happiness in words. This all took a lot of hard work. We kept motivating him and gave him positivity to go on no matter what."

Dayal has had a fine first-class cricket career, taking 76 wickets in 24 matches at an average of 28.89, with best figures of 5/48. In India B's recent win over India A in the Duleep Trophy, Yash took three wickets for India B, including a spell of 3/50 in the fourth innings.

Indian squad for first Test against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma , Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant , Dhruv Jurel , R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yash Dayal.

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