IND vs BAN Test: Jaydev Unadkat named as Shami’s Replacement

IND vs BAN Test: With every bad news there comes good news & the saying turned true for Jaydev Unadkat who has received a call-up to India’s Test squad for Bangladesh Series. The blistering left-arm pace sensation grabbed the limelight when he guided his team Saurashtra to their second title triumph in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022. Unadkat has been added to the squad in place of Mohammed Shami who has been ruled out of the Test series due to a stress injury.

Notably, Unadkat has been recalled to India’s Test squad after a long period of 12 years. If he gets a chance to feature in the Playing XI in either of the Test matches then he will set a new record for the lengthiest gap between two Tests by any Indian Cricketer which is currently held by Parthiv Patel. He had last featured in a Test fixture back in 2010 against South Africa. Since then the prolific pacer has featured in seven ODIs & 10 T20Is but was never considered for any of India’s Test Series.

Jaydev Unadkat is all set to prove his mettle in International Arena

Jaydev Unadkat is not a like-for-like replacement for Shami, but the BCCI has put his name forward for crucial Test series on the basis of his splendid performances in the domestic format. In the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022, Unadkat was the highest wicket-taker by scalping 19 wickets in 10 matches. He is one of the most successful pacers in the history of domestic cricket after returning with outstanding figures of 353 wickets in 96 matches which also includes the Ranji Trophy 2019-2020 triumph where Unadkat returned with 67 wickets to help Saurashtra win their maiden Ranji Trophy title.

The left-arm pacer has emerged with flying colors in almost every format & couple of times the outgoing selection committee was thinking of including him in India’s squad but failed to do so. However, the left-arm pacer has finally earned a place in the National Squad. He will join India’s Test squad by December 11 in Dhaka.

Injury Spate has been a major concern for India in Bangladesh Tour

Indian team in Bangladesh has been reeling due to injuries with half of the touring team ruled out of action due to injuries. Rohit Sharma is the latest inclusion in India’s Injury list. Though Rohit has been ruled out of the final ODI & the upcoming first Test beginning on December 14, there is hope that the veteran player will return for the second Test starting on December 22. For the unversed, Rohit suffered a thumb injury during the second ODI & was flown back to Mumbai for further treatment. In Rohit’s absence, KL Rahul will lead the team in the first Test while Abhimanyu Easwaran the skipper of India A side is likely to replace Rohit in the first Test.

IND vs BAN Test: India’s Squad for the first Test:

Shubman Gill, Abhimanyu Easwaran,  KL Rahul (C), Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK, VC), Saurabh Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, KS Bharat (WK), Jaydev Unadkat, Mohd. Siraj and Umesh Yadav.