“A time when I really felt like taking a flight & going there” – Jaydev Unadkat leads Ranji triumph between twin India comebacks

As the Ranji Trophy final concluded at the Eden Gardens, there was exaltation in one dressing room and introspection in the other. One player, who had missed out on the summit clash, was venting regret in an informal chat with this correspondent.

The natural reaction was to throw words of motivation and reassurance his way. Then the conversation – quite inevitably, yet instinctively – became about Jaydev Unadkat. In the face of his 12-year wait to represent India in a Test match again, every problem seems trifling. Unadkat’s story is one of hurt, acceptance, grit, fighting self-doubt, and it oozes inspiration. But it is in this fructifying hope that people from every walk of life would take solace.

You talk to anyone from the Saurashtra team, and they would hail Unadkat not just as a captain, but as a leader. The 31-year-old played that emotion-strewn Test in Mirpur, which meant he had to miss Saurashtra’s opening three fixtures. But in his first game back, on a turning Rajkot pitch against northern giants Delhi, he recorded his best first-class figures of 8 for 39. And he wasn’t done. With the bat, he smashed a 70 off 68 balls as Saurashtra won by an innings and 214 runs.

In an era where the Ranji Trophy isn’t the best friend to national caps and IPL contracts, Jaydev Unadkat has been a crusader on that front as well. In many ways, it is also him giving back to the competition that helped him return to India's whites for the first time since Centurion in 2010.

If he created history in the title-winning 2019/20 season, this edition was about juggling state and national duties. It was no surprise that Jaydev Unadkat came from India’s squad of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy to play the Ranji Trophy final. It was like that kid who also plays tennis-ball cricket in the alley, after returning from formal coaching. Not a coherent comparison, but it is heart and soul we are talking about.

Much like his numerous spells, where one wicket leads to another, Unadkat has now been rewarded with an ODI call-up too. Before eyebrows are raised, it must be noted that the left-arm pacer has taken 66 wickets across the previous five seasons of the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. In domestic T20s, he has 52 scalps from 31 matches in that period.

These are fresh chapters in a book that once seemed tragic but also fraught with hope and is now turning out to have a happy ending.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Jaydev Unadkat talks the vivid details of the triumphant Ranji season, India comebacks, the need to constantly evolve, fresh IPL deal with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), way forward, and much more.

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Excerpts from Jaydev Unadkat's exclusive interview with Sportskeeda

Jaydev Unadkat celebrates Ranji success with wife Rinny at Eden Gardens [Credits: Srinjoy Sanyal]

Q. Ranji Trophy, part of the Test side and now an ODI call-up as well. Do you feel all these years of hard work are coming to fruition now?

Jaydev Unadkat: Yes, absolutely. It’s all falling into place at the right time. I keep saying that, since we won that Ranji Trophy title back in 2019/20, the next five years are going to be my peak. And I am happy that I am getting the rewards. And more than that, to be honest, the recognition that Saurashtra got, the messages that I am receiving, have been very, very special. Honestly, apart from everything that’s happening individually, I am really happy for what’s happened to our team.

Q. Talking about your peak, was that 8-for followed by a 70 off 68 balls versus Delhi one of your best performances ever?

Jaydev Unadkat: Yeah, for sure. I think that was my best performance till date for Saurashtra. To go with, I would say, the 10 wickets that I took against Gujarat in the last title’s semi-final – that was pretty special as well. But this one because, it came on a turning track – both the teams were playing three spinners each. And we had lost the toss and we knew that if they would get a score even close to 300 in the first innings, the game would have been different. And had we not gotten a bonus point in that game, we might not have qualified. You never know, because it was down to the bonus points in the end. So looking at the impact that performance had, it was one of my best performances for Saurashtra.

Q. You got selected for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy team and hence missed three matches on the trot, including the quarters and semi. How do you balance that jubilation of representing India and the restlessness of not being able to lead Saurashtra in the Ranji knockouts?

Jaydev Unadkat: I was obviously super excited to be a part of the team. And honestly, when I was there in the Indian dressing room, I didn’t have a feeling that I am missing out on anything. Because, that’s the ultimate feeling. When you are there with the Test team, in that dressing room, you don’t think about anything else but representing the country. And even if I wasn’t playing, it’s about how much you can contribute and being ready for the chance whenever it comes. But I was very, very keen on following what the guys were doing, throughout the quarters and the semis. On the last day, when the Test match was over, I was watching the semi-final on Hotstar. When we were 40 for five in the last innings chasing 110, that was a time when I really felt like taking a flight and going there and being in the Saurashtra dressing room. I knew the guys had done everything right till then and I didn’t want them to give it up in that half an hour. So yeah, that was one time when I really felt that I want to go and be with the guys.

Q. Before the final, if you could talk about the decision of being released?

Jaydev Unadkat: Both the team management and I were keen on it. They were equally keen for me to go and play the finals. I was part of the Indian team and it had to come from them, that they would let me go and play. And once I knew they were keen, obviously I was up and ready and I just wanted to go there and play my part. Playing for Saurashtra has been very, very close to my heart and I knew that winning one more title could double the joy and recognition that we’ve had all these years. So I was very, very excited when I got that permission to go and play the finals. And both Cheteshwar [Pujara] and Ravindra [Jadeja] were of the same opinion. As soon as they got to know, they were equally happy. Because they knew that it would now be an equal contest. The pitch at Eden would assist the fast bowlers more, and one part we were probably lacking in was consistency in our fast-bowling department, when I wasn’t around.

Q. Going slightly back, did you expect the India comeback when the team for Bangladesh was announced? Did the journey of the previous 12 years come flashing back?

Jaydev Unadkat: I was pretty emotional. At the back of my mind, I had never given up on making a comeback. But it had been a long time and you don’t really know when it’s going to happen or if it will happen. That’s why it was that much more special. And since me and Rinny have gotten together, and since she has started understanding, she has had that belief more than me that a comeback is around the corner and it’s going to happen. So that way, it was always there in our mind. And when it happened, I was obviously emotional. We were screaming and shouting out of joy at the fact that it finally happened, and in what way – on the back of winning the Vijay Hazare. It was all, like I said, aligning at the right time at this point in my career. I am delighted at how things panned out in the last three or four months – first the Vijay Hazare triumph, then the Bangladesh call-up and then being able to retain the place in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and the Ranji title now.

Q. How do you feel about your ODI call-up?

Jaydev Unadkat: Whatever chances you get to represent the national team – be it Tests or ODIs – I feel the fundamentals don’t change. I have been bowling well throughout the season, and that’s why things have been falling into place. That’s the most important part; the skills have to be right up there, in terms of creating that impact with the ball. That is in the right place, the rhythm is good. So hopefully, now that I have gotten my chance in the ODIs, whenever I get to play, I’ll make sure I am up and ready for it like never before. Because, obviously the chances have come after long and I am that much keen to grab them with both hands.

Q. The team has forever been looking for a left-arm quick. Is this something that has been in your mind as well? Have the selectors told you anything regarding the long-term plan?

Jaydev Unadkat: Not really. There haven’t been talks about it. Like we have seen in recent times, it’s not just about a left-arm seamer, because the team has been successful without that as well. Obviously it’s an added advantage to have a left-arm seamer in the armoury, but you have to be that much better than others in the circuit. My job at the moment is to make sure that the skills are right up there and that I can create an impact, so that we do have that variety in the bowling attack.

Q. For someone like you who has had a 12-year gap between two Tests, the sense of security becomes that much important. But individually, has acknowledging that the tables can turn any moment made you strong?

Jaydev Unadkat: The journey of being on the domestic circuit and playing domestic cricket for so long in itself makes you mentally strong. The Indian domestic season is second to none – the variety of pitches that we play on, the level of cricket has improved so much in the last decade or so after the IPL and modern infrastructures have come in. I would say, just going through season after season and through that grind has been the biggest learning platform. It has taught me to be tough and be ready for any situation at any moment, to be fit and be in the prime of your abilities, so that you are able to thrive in all situations.

Q. 2017/18 was a fantastic phase in your IPL career. But life hasn’t been easy since then. How have you assessed the slide?

Jaydev Unadkat: There are two ways of looking at it. And there will always be one way where you will only be criticised and judged because of just not being the best. That season was the best for me and I was obviously the second highest wicket-taker, but impact-wise, I was better than everyone else in that season. So when you compare all other seasons to that, I do feel I wasn’t the best in all the seasons. But then, at the Rajasthan Royals as well, the word from the management and everyone else was I was able to contribute to the team’s success, at least in the first couple of seasons. And there can be one or two bad seasons for anyone, and that happened to me as well. I still feel that the basics remain the same, it’s about adapting and evolving with time. Maybe I won’t be in the top 10, but I still feel I am good at it. I have been taking up that challenge every year of improving as a T20 bowler and it’s going to remain the same this year as well.