Yash Dayal, the left-arm seamer for Gujarat Titans, has courted controversy after screenshots of a cartoon on ‘Love Jihad’ that he had shared on his official Instagram as a story appeared on social media. The post is currently not available on Dayal’s Instagram handle and appears to have been deleted. Subsequently, the young cricketer issued an apology in response.

Dayal wrote, "Guys, apologies for the story. It was just posted by mistake, please don't spread hate. Thank you. I have respect for each and every community and society," he wrote on Instagram.

The cartoon allegedly shared by Dayal featured an image showing a Hindu girl blindfolded, symbolising her trust in Muslim boy. The Muslim boy was portrayed holding a knife behind his back telling the girl "There is no love jihad, this is all propaganda. I really love you!The girl replies “I know Abdul tum alag ho, I trust you blindly.” 

Love jihad refers to a bogey spread by right-wing organisations alleging that Muslim men ‘trap’ Hindu and Christian women into marrying them and force them to convert to Islam. Dayal faced backlash from fans for stirring controversy with a cartoon on Love Jihad, which is used to polarise communities.

It is worth noting that Yash Dayal gained attention during the IPL 2023 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders when he conceded five sixes in an over. Rinku Singh, a KKR batsman, stunned the defending champions by hitting Dayal for five consecutive sixes in the final five balls of the 20th over. The sudden onslaught led to the Titans' defeat as they fell short by 29 runs in the match.