Saurashtra pacer receives surprise call-up, replaces Mohammed Shami for the Test series against Bangladesh
India have been hit with a spate of injuries. The bowling attack looks very thin ahead of the Test series against Bangladesh. Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami will most likely not be part of the Test series. This has handicapped the Test side and it will be interesting to see how the playing XI will look like.
In a move that would make things easy for India, Jaydev Unadkat has been called in to join the Test squad as a replacement for Mohammed Shami. According to Sportstar, the Indian Cricket Board has already informed the Saurashtra Cricket association that Unadkat will join the team in Chattogram for the first Test against Bangladesh.
If Unadkat flies down to Bangladesh and joins the Test side, then he will miss out on Saurashtra’s opening Ranji game against Assam. Unadkat has been raising the bar for Saurashtra in domestic cricket, both as a bowler and captain. He led the side to their first Ranji Trophy title in the 2019-20 season. Saurashtra also won the Vijay Hazare Trophy on 2 December 2022.
Jaydev Unadkat last played a Test in 2010 against South Africa
Notably, Unadkat played his last Test in 2010 against South Africa which has turned out to be his only Test till date. The left-armer picked up 67 wickets to emerge as the highest wicket taker when Saurashtra won the Ranji Trophy title and also followed it up in the Vijay Hazare Trophy where he picked up 19 wickets from 10 games to finish as the leading wicket taker.
He is one of the better players in the Indian T20 League and teams such as the Rajasthan side have broken the bank for him in the past. His strength has been a change of pace with plenty of variations with the ball being his key weapon. He is most potent on slow surfaces. He has also established himself as a good lower-order batter and can chip in with the bat.
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