Rape accused Yash Dayal won’t join RCB for IPL 2026

Dubai: A senior official from Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has confirmed that left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who has multiple allegations of sexual assault and exploitation, will not participate in the Indian Premier League 2026, despite remaining under contract with the franchise.

RCB’s director of cricket, Mo Bobat, said on Tuesday that Dayal will not be joining the squad due to an ongoing ‘personal situation’.

“So, just to confirm that Yash will not be joining up with the squad. As you know, he is going through a personal situation currently, and just to clarify, we’ve been very supportive of Yash to date and that’s reflected in the fact that we retained him when we had the opportunity to either retain or release players.

“We wanted to retain him, and he remains under contract and will continue in the short term to remain under contract,” Bobat told the media during a press conference. “We are communicating with him regularly. I spoke to him earlier today as well, but it has been decided that it is not in his best interest or the franchise’s best interest for him to join up with us at this point.”

“He retains our support, and he remains under contract, and we’ll continue to speak to him as he goes through his personal situation,” he added.

RCB’s decision to retain Dayal had earlier sparked criticism when the retention list was announced before the auction. The pacer had played a key role in the team’s 2025 title-winning campaign, taking 13 wickets during the season, but has not featured since the final. His absence is tied to ongoing legal proceedings, which have kept him out of competitive cricket.

In his absence, bowlers such as Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Jacob Duffy, Rasikh Salam, Abhinandan Singh, Mangesh Yadav, and Romario Shepherd are expected to take on greater responsibility.

Dayal’s cases

Dayal is currently facing two separate criminal cases involving serious allegations of sexual exploitation. The first case was registered in July 2025 in Ghaziabad, where a woman accused him of physical and emotional exploitation under the pretext of marriage during a long-term relationship. A second case was later filed in Jaipur under the POCSO Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, based on allegations by a minor who claimed repeated sexual assault since 2023, including an incident during the 2025 IPL season.

While the Allahabad High Court granted a stay on his arrest in the Ghaziabad case, a POCSO court in Jaipur denied his anticipatory bail plea in December 2025, citing the seriousness of the allegations and the ongoing investigation.

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