Trolls don't bother me quips Jaydev Unadkat 

Despite being the best domestic Indian bowler for the last few years, the cricketing journey of Jaydev Unadkat hasn’t been easy and he has been at the receiving end of several trolls on social media in the recent past. However, the left-arm pacer is unperturbed by them and feels that people do it for the sake of fun and seeking attention. During an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Unadkat accepted the fact that people are too harsh at times and they need to realise that cricketers are humans at the end of the day and are bound to make mistakes.

“At some point, I do feel that people become so harsh they don’t realise we are humans as well. But having said that, you can’t really go to every individual and see what their mindset is. They [trolls] do it for fun, or just to get attention. People have told me to not bother about that and that social media is something I shouldn’t really look at,” Unadkat was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“I haven’t had anyone coming up to me and telling me anything on my face. I think those people only mention you on social media. Face to face, they won’t speak anything. That itself shows that those things don’t really matter as much as you think they do at times.” He goes on to add.

“We play this beautiful game for fans, for people to follow it and love it. But in our country, it happens that a minority do it out of hatred or jealousy. Critics can help you at times, tell you things that you don’t see in your game. But people who just abuse you all the time don’t really matter. When it started, it was difficult because I wasn’t used to it. But I’m pretty much immune to all that now. You have to develop a thick skin if you are playing cricket in India,” the pacer said.

Also see – PSL schedule

The progress graph of Jaydev Unadkat in the IPL hasn’t been upto the mark. After a great season with the now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017, Unadkat was snapped up at a whopping ₹ 11.5 crores by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2018. He didn’t have the greatest of seasons but RR had the faith in him and bought him again at ₹ 8.5 crores last year. Yet again he was released before the IPL Auctions but was bought back for ₹ 3 crores. He hasn’t lived up to his price tag in the last two years and will look for a turnaround this season. Unadkat bagged just 10 wickets in 11 matches last season at a poor economy rate of 10.66.

---