Unadkat had led Saurashtra to Ranji Trophy 2019-20 by defeating Bengal.
Tamil Nadu spinner R Ashwin wants to win the Ranji Trophy title and he admits it will stay inside his mind until he lifts the title for his state. They have won the tournament in 1954-55 and 1987-88, and obviously, the off-spinner wasn't part of it.
Ashwin had a chat with Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat, who led his state team to Ranji Trophy win in 2019-20 and told him about his dream to win the tournament.
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“It has been my dream to play a Ranji Trophy final ever since I made my first-class debut. I have been in a couple of semifinals and my team has gone to the finals but I have not been a part of the final,” Ashwin told Unadkat on his Youtube channel.
“I have been so disappointed that Tamil Nadu has not been able to win a Ranji Trophy. That is something that will always stick in my head and you have managed to do that for Saurashtra at such a young age,” he admitted.
Unadkat advised Ashwin to stay away from Cheteshwar Pujara as he will make the obsession even worse.
“I think Cheteshwar will put that in your head even more,” Unadkat jokingly said.
To which Ashwin replied in jest, “I just hate you for giving him the opportunity to go after me, which is what I hate and I am so jealous of you. But I hope this paves the way for you to come back into the national team.”
“But having said that, I will try and resurrect it with whatever little bit of a career I have left, whatever time I have left with Tamil Nadu,” he added.
Saurashtra was defeated in the final of Ranji Trophy 2018-19 by Vidarbha, but they came back stronger in next season and completed the journey. Interestingly, the Unadkat-led side had knocked out Tamil Nadu in the semi-finals.