Ex-India cricketer questions Jaydev Unadkat's snub from England tour, RR pacer responds

Expressing utter disappointment over the snub of Jayadev Unadkat from the Team India squad announced to tour England, former cricketer Dodda Ganesh questioned the selectors for ignoring the Saurashtra seamer despite his breakthrough performances in the First-Class cricket. In a series of tweets, Ganesh said that it is 'perplexing' to see Unadkat being ignored 'again and again' despite 'great performances'. Notably, Unadkat has played only one Test for India against South Africa in December 2010 and has been snubbed since then, even after he became the first captain to lead Saurashtra to its maiden Ranji Trophy win in 2020. 

'What else does Unadkat need to do?'

Sharing key stats, Dodda asserted that Unadkat has 'mind-boggling numbers' in First-Class cricket, adding that he should have been on the plane to England in place of a spinner. The former India cricketer pointed out that the team does not need four spinners in England, considering the lush green and seaming wickets. 

"I’ll never be able to convince the IPL generation kids that a player’s selection into the test team, actually happens on the basis of the FC performances. Unadkat is the best seamer in the past 4-5 years," Ganesh said in one of the tweets. 

Responding to Dodda Ganesh's tweet, Jaydev Unadkat confidently remarked that he would come back stronger in the next season and added that the concern motivates him. 

Since the start of the 2018/19 season, Unadkat has wreaked havoc in the domestic circuit with his seam and swing. The Saurashtra pacer has picked 122 wickets at an average of 15.89 which includes 10 fifers. The seamer also had a near-perfect IPL 2021 with the Rajasthan Royals before it was called off indefinitely. His highlight show came against Delhi Capitals this season where he picked three wickets within the powerplay. Unadkat ended his spell with 3 wickets and conceded 15 runs off his 4 overs. 

BCCI announces squad for WTC final

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced a 20-man squad for the upcoming World Test Championship and India tour of England. Team India’s first stop will be in Southampton where they play New Zealand to decide the first champion of the Test format. Following their 3-1 win against England at home, India finished as the No. 1 side with 72.2 percentage points and booked their place in the final. The Indian team is scheduled to play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand at Southampton from June 18-22 before taking on England in a five-Test series.

India’s squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul (subject to fitness clearance), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper; subject to fitness clearance).