Jaydev Unadkat Posts a Message After Not Getting Included In The Indian Test Squad
The Board Of Cricket Control In India (BCCI) announced the squad for the final of the inaugural season of the ICC World Test Championship and also the upcoming five-match Test series against England in the UK. BCCI also included four standby players to travel with the main squad to England.
Jaydev Unadkat Was Displeased With The BCCI And The Team Of Selectors
BCCI went with the same main squad expecting them to play a good cricket match. The players who have regularly played for the Indian Test team in the last two or three years. There were no surprise inclusions in the main squad. However, BCCI did bring in surprise to the list of the standby players who will be traveling to England with the main squad. The BCCI selected four new and young players in the standby list. They got the reward for their excellent and consistent performances in the domestic tournaments for quite some time. The four players include the likes of Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla.
BCCI’s squad selection for the Test matches surprised former Indian pacer Dodda Ganesh as he was upset with the team selection. He bashed the selection committee for not including the left-arm fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat in the squad. Jaydev last played for India in Test matches in 2010 against South Africa. He failed to pick up any wicket in that match and had an economy rate of 3.88.
However, Unadkat has been performing consistently in first-class cricket. With his performances, he has made a situation where the selectors can think of him getting a chance in the Indian Team. In the 2019-20 season, Unadkat picked up 67 wickets for his Ranji team Saurashtra and also led his team to the Ranji Trophy win.
Ganesh questioned BCCI for not including Jaydev Unadkat for the Indian Test squad
Ganesh was upset with the selectors for ignoring Unadkat even after such impressive performances in domestic cricket. He posted a Tweet on his official Twitter account to ask the selectors of their decision. “What else does @JUnadkat need to do to get into the Indian Test squad. It is perplexing to see him being ignored again and again despite great performances year after year at the FC level,” Ganesh said in a Tweet.
His concern was genuine and it was shared by some of the other fans within the Indian fanbase. Unadkat had impressed in the IPL with some quality bowling. His presence was the need of the hour and it was rather surprising that he hadn’t even been considered to play in the team. Despite that, the player really kept his calm and focused on the right things. Hopefully, this does not go unnoticed as his play has in recent times. At least some of the fans seem to feel so.
Unadkat was overwhelmed with Ganesh’s tweet though
Unadkat came across Ganesh’s tweet and was happy with Ganesh’s concern regarding his selection. He replied to the tweet and said that he is more motivated to perform even better in the next season and earn the spot in the Indian Test team.
Unadkat responded by saying, “Your concern motivates me even more! Bring on the next season.”
India lacks a proper left-arm fast bowler after the departure of Zaheer Khan. Unadkat has made a case for himself after his consistent performances in the domestic setup. However, with the Test spots for fast bowlers already packed up, Unadkat needs to wait longer before he makes his Test comeback. Now, it remains to be seen when Unadkat will get back to the Indian Test Team.
What next for Team India; as we head into a crucial phase of this year with lots of cricket coming?
Team India has a really big year coming up. They will want to win the World Test Championship and will want to do well in the upcoming T20 World Cup as well. Only a good performance in both formats of the game can make that happen. Virat Kohli and co. will really want to impress in the days that follow.
Though the likes of Unadkat could have been taken along with the team, there are some quality pacers within that squad. It would not be easy to change a winning combination and King Kohli would have not wanted to experiment too much with his squad.
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