Yash Dayal has not played a competitive match since the IPL 2025 final. Now the left-arm pacer is trying to restart his domestic career in a new shirt. India Today reported on 27 July 2026 that he plans to leave Uttar Pradesh and play for Chhattisgarh in the 2026-27 season, and that he has already joined their pre-season camp in Alur, Karnataka.
The paperwork is the catch. India Today, citing ESPNcricinfo, said his no-objection certificate (NOC) was still being processed. Under BCCI regulations, a player who gets one can represent another state association and still be eligible for franchise-based T20 competitions in his home state.
How he got here
The move comes months after the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) suspended Dayal following criminal cases, one of them under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Royal Challengers Bengaluru kept him ahead of IPL 2026 but left him out of the squad. RCB director of cricket Mo Bobat said it “wasn’t in Yash Dayal’s or RCB’s best interests to pick him due to his personal situation.”
At home, the Gorakhpur Lions had retained him for the UP T20 League and he had begun training with them. His name was missing from the final squad after the auction. The UPCA declined to comment on the omission, but the report said Dayal had seen it coming and had started looking outside the state.
New dressing room, open cases
In Alur he trains under new head coach Amay Khurasiya, alongside India off-spinner Jayant Yadav and veteran all-rounder Dharmendrasinh Jadeja.
The legal side has not moved. In Ghaziabad, Dayal faces allegations of sexually exploiting a woman under a false promise of marriage; an FIR was registered under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the Allahabad High Court has given him interim protection from arrest. His lawyers deny the allegations and say he is being targeted through blackmail and extortion. A separate case in Jaipur under the POCSO Act involves allegations concerning a minor. A special POCSO court rejected his anticipatory bail plea, citing the seriousness of the accusations. These are allegations; no court has ruled on them in the report.
