CHENNAI: When knocking on the door isn’t enough, break it open. That’s what they said of Ravindra Jadeja in 2013 and Mayank Agarwal five years later, after they forced their way into the Test side by producing performances in domestic cricket that nobody could ignore. With 67 wickets in 10 matches and as captain of Saurashtra’s Ranji Trophy-winning team, Jaydev Unadkat could have been excused for thinking he has done enough to earn a call-up.
The India team management has mentioned missing a left-arm quick and he ticks the right boxes. But the bowler — who was handed a surprise Test debut 10 years ago when he was 18 and made only sporadic appearances in white-ball cricket since — is taking it easy. Making more meaningful contributions in national colours is a flame that keeps burning, JD — as he’s known — is not burdening himself with the thought.
“Playing for India is the ambition of every domestic player. But to be honest, this was not my goal when I started the season. I had told myself that I would concentrate 100 per cent on my performance and my team. Thinking of getting selected for India may have caused unnecessary pressure. I focussed on fitness and conditioning in the off-season. Lasting without breaking down or getting fatigued was all that I was looking at. Wverything fell in place. Yes, I am hopeful after a fruitful season,” Unadkat told this daily.
The endeavour to be fit for the grind without missing any match and not getting burnt out was a long process which started before the season. Part of it was a 10-day stint in UK for physical conditioning. The results showed. Unadkat bowled 315 overs, the most by a fast bowler in the just-concluded edition of the premier domestic championship. Given that some of the pitches in Rajkot were not conducive for fast bowling, the workload was remarkable.
Once the ball lost shine, a bowler had to be innovative and Unadkat came up with an array of variations to prise batsmen out. Bowling over and around the wicket and using the width of the crease, he kept batsmen guessing by mixing up the angles. Other than the one that slanted away along the natural line, there was a lot more at different stages of an innings, including an incoming one delivered from both sides of the stumps. It was evident that a fair amount of homework and thought had gone into the effort.
“I don’t discuss bowling strategies with a lot of people. Mostly, it’s me devising my own plans. Over the years, with the experience and knowledge that comes with bowling, I have understood how to take wickets with the new and old ball. Compared to a few years back, I have more ways of getting batsmen out. I have more weapons in my armoury. The pre-season training was done accordingly, aimed specifically at what suits my kind of bowling instead of going about it in a general manner,” said the 28-year-old.
Unadkat is different from others also because he is one of the few fast-bowling captains to have won the Ranji title. “Captaincy means your mind should be able to process multiple things at a time. It’s also about how much you care for the team’s goals rather than those of your own.” “Having said that, it’s tough being a fast bowler and captain. Bowling long spells takes a toll and there were occasions when the body was so tired that the mind almost stopped working. But in the end, responsibility brought the best out of me. I enjoyed the experience.”
That team before self aspect was tested in the final against Bengal. Going into the game needing three wickets to equal the Ranji Trophy record for a season, Unadkat finished with two. There were passages of play when part-time medium-pacers bowled long spells, with the captain conserving himself for the opportune moment. “There were two things. One was the record and another was the trophy. I am happier to have won the trophy. Even if I had got the record, somebody would have broken it. But becoming the first Saurashtra captain to win Ranji Trophy is something that will stay with me. There’s no comparison between the two.”
3 Unadkat ended up with seven fifers in the last Ranji Trophy. He is the third pacer to achieve the feat in a single season.
21 Unadkat also broke a Ranji record that stood for 21 years: the most wickets taken by a speedster in a single season.
0 After Zaheer Khan’s retirement in 2014, no left-arm pacer has been a part of India’s XI in a
Test match.