After a long gap of 12 years, Indian veteran left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat has received a call-up to the Indian Test squad for the upcoming series in Bangladesh as a replacement for the injured Mohammed Shami. Shami was ruled out of the series due to a hand injury.
The Indian cricket team will lock horns with Bangladesh in the two-match Test series after the conclusion of the ongoing ODI series. The upcoming 2-match Test series is very important for India to win if they want to qualify for the World Test Championship final. The first Test match against Bangladesh will get underway on December 14 in Chattogram and ahead of that, the BCCI has roped in veteran pacer Jaydev Unadkat for the upcoming Test series.
Jaydev Unadkat impressed one and all with his recent performance in his team Saurashtra’s Vijay Hazare Trophy win recently. He is currently in Rajkot and waiting to complete his visa formalities, after which he will join the Test squad in Chattogram. Unadkat, who led the Saurashtra team in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 19 scalps in 10 games. Overall, he has picked up 353 wickets in 96 first-class matches. The same was confirmed by a BCCI source to the PTI.
The 31-year-old Jaydev Unadkat played his last Test match in 2010 in a match against South Africa in Centurion. Ever since then, Unadkat has played seven ODIs and 10 T20 Internationals but not a single Test match.
It has to be noted that besides Shami, the Indian team has been struggling with injuries to players such as skipper Rohit Sharma, and youngsters Kuldeep Sen, and Deepak Chahar. While there is still a doubt on Rohit’s availability, on the other hand, Kuldeep Sen and Deepak Chahar have been ruled out of the upcoming series.