Jaydev Unadkat - The one for the future

It is a very common phenomenon of today’s competitive world that the failure of one person becomes an opportunity for another. But in few cases, its timing proves very vital; rather it becomes a turning point for the beneficiary. And now its time for Jaydev Udankat.

The prominent newspaper Dainik Jagran published a story entitled – “Unadkat can replace Ishant” in today’s edition. In this article it has been highlighted that while the other members of team India were enjoying in the swimming pool of a hotel in Ranchi yesterday, both Ishant and Unadkat were undergoing a rigorous practice session under the guidance of the bowling coach Joe Dawes. Dawes was seen instructing Ishant to throw full length balls whereas Unadkat was asked to maintain the speed and the swing. It is pertinent to mention that the central pitch of Ranchi is equally suitable for the batsmen and the bowlers.

It has also been highlighted by the newspaper article that the management is obviously annoyed with Ishant for his poor performance and they do not want to take a chance in the next crucial match to be held in Ranchi on Wednesday. Captain MS Dhoni wants to ensure the victory at any cost in his home ground especially in front of the frenzy fans. He intends to utilize the best eleven to make it even with Australia but the final decision in this regard will only be taken on Wednesday.

Incidentally Dhoni has won all four matches played here in Ranchi. (One against England and three while playing for Chennai Super Kings). Now let us have a quick look on the profile of Jaydev Unadkat:

Born on 18^th October 1992 in Porbander, Gujarat, he is a left arm fast medium bowler. In domestic circuit he is playing for Saurashtra since 2010. In IPL, he used to play for Kolkata Knight Riders from 2010 to 2012 and he is playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2013. He had also participated in under 19 Cricket World Cup held in New Zealand in 2010. He has also been playing as a member of India A and India.

Despite his not so sparkling performance, his bowling average is 17.37 in ODIs. During his tenure with Kolkata Knight Riders the bowling coach Wasim Akram once described him as the one for the future. He had displayed his bowling skills while playing for India A’s tour held at England in 2010 and had an amazing debut of taking 13 / 103 against West Indies A. Immediately thereafter he was chosen for the Test Team but couldn’t do much for the team and was eventually dropped from the same.

However in the year 2012-13, he got an important breakthrough during India A’s tour of New Zealand as he picked up 10 wickets at a fairly good average of 14.30 with the bounty of 2 four wickets haul. Even in IPL he has marked his presence in a very strong manner as he finished joint 2^nd on the Royal Challenge Bangalore Team’s Wicket Taker’s list. He had successfully qualified through a real test on Zimbabwe Tour in July 2013 wherein in his ODI debut he took 8 wickets in 5 matches.

To justify a deserving chance to Jaydev Unadkat I intend to simply pen down the bowling average of Ishant Sharma which is 37.99 in Test, 30.03 in ODI and 32.59 in FC Matches.

Hopefully being a young, hardworking, energetic medium fast swing bowler having a lot of scope of improvement in his speed and line & length he will be able to fulfill the expectations of the fans. I strongly believe that if given proper nourishment and exposure, Jaydev Unadkat can be converted into a wicket taking bowler. He might also develop a good rapport with other young bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav. The Least we can expect from him is that he will not give away 30 runs in a crucial over. Looking forward to see Unadkat striking and striking good.