Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat was overlooked for the upcoming England tour despite performing brilliantly in the Ranji Trophy 2019-20. He led Saurashtra to their maiden title win and also bagged 67 wickets with a strike rate of 28.2 in the season.
No wonder, Unadkat feels a bit disappointed, especially as Team India have handed Test caps to quite a few fast bowlers in the past six months.
“I felt (exclusion from) Australia tour was fine because everyone was fit in the main squad. But later on, (looking at) those who got chances due to injuries, I felt I deserved one,” Unadkat told The Hindu.
Considering that India will play 6 Tests during the England tour (WTC final and 5 Tests against England), Unadkat was expecting to be picked in the squad. However, he wasn’t even named among the standbys with the trio of Avesh Khan, Praisdh Krishna and Arzan Nagwaswalla making the cut instead.
“I was hoping to make it to the England tour. As simple as that. I have said in the past that the guys who are at the top are doing well, so I have to wait for my chance. This time around, I have been honestly disappointed. I’ll still take the disappointment positively to motivate myself to do better,” Unadkat said.
However, the non-selection hasn’t made him frustrated by any bit.
“I haven’t reached that level of frustration for sure. As I look at it, it’s not now or never for me. When I say I am at my peak, it’s still four or five years more to remain at my peak,” he remarked.
“I am 29 and because I made my debut early (in 2010), people consider me ‘old’. I was a teenager when I made my Test debut a decade ago, so I still have a lot of time. I am not that frustrated for sure,” added Unadkat, who has 327 First-Class wickets to his name from 89 games.
