Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat has got a call for the Indian test squad after 12 years.
Jaydev Unadkat has been picked into the Indian Test side as a replacement for the injured Mohammed Shami for the two-match series against Bangladesh starting December 14.
Jaydev Unadkat Named as Replacement for injured Shami in India Test team
Unadkat made his test debut in South Africa way back in 2010 under the leadership of MS Dhoni. He hasn’t got any more opportunities in the test format after his debut. 12 years later he is back in the Indian test side as Team India’s front line pacer Mohammed Shami has been ruled out due to a hand injury. Jasprit Bumrah too isn’t fit yet.
Saurashtra’s skipper Jaydev Unadkat has been a tireless performer at the domestic level and constantly keeps picking wickets for his state side. The left-arm pacer was also the highest wicket-taker of the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy with 67 scalps. He was also the top wicket-taker in the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 19 wickets in just 10 games. Unadkat has till now played 96 first-class matches and has grabbed 353 wickets for Saurashtra.
Team India will contest Bangladesh for the two-match series starting December 14 in Chattogram. “Unadkat is currently in Rajkot, waiting to complete his visa formalities, and is expected to link up with the Test squad in Chattogram over the next couple of days,” reported ESPN Cricinfo.
Look at Jaydev Unadkat's happiness when he got selected in Indian team for the Test series against Bangladesh. pic.twitter.com/cMa6reVoeO
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) December 10, 2022
Unadkat’s selection has been quite surprising for most of the cricket fans as the young pacer Mukesh Kumar was the front runner to replace Mohammad Shami in the test squad. There were reports that India A pacers Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar might be called in as a cover for Shami as both have performed well in the recently-concluded two-match unofficial Test series against Bangladesh. Jaydev Unadkat wasn’t the part of India-A squad which recently played in Bangladesh.
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The selectors have picked Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur for the test series against Bangladesh and hence it might get pretty difficult for Unadkat to get a game against Bangladesh. However, India will host Australia for a four-match test series and it will be interesting to see which pacers will get a chance against Aussies.