By 
India left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat has been released from the India squad for the second Test against Australia. He will now join the Saurashtra squad for the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal, which will be played from February 16 in Kolkata.
Unadkat will now be available to lead his state team Saurashtra in the final of the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season.
In Unadkat’s absence, stand-in captain Arpit Vasavada led Saurashtra to their eighth final of the tournament after defeating Karnataka by 4 wickets in the semi-finals in Bengaluru. Meanwhile, Bengal defeated Madhya Pradesh by 306 runs in the other semi-final game in Indore.
31-year-old Unadkat will now miss the second Test against Australia, which will be played from February 17 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
After a gap of 12 years, Unadkat made his Test comeback after getting picked for the Bangladesh tour in December last year. He was also selected in India’s Test squad for the first two Tests of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
However, he did not feature in the playing XI in the first Test of the series in Nagpur, which India won by an inning and 132 runs inside three days.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee in consultation with the Indian team management has decided to release Unadkat from India’s squad. It is understood that Unadkat was keen to play in the Ranji Trophy final and requested the Indian team management before the selectors approved his release.
The availability of Unadkat is a big boost for Saurashtra in the final as they aim for their second title after clinching their maiden title in the 2019-20 season. Although he has played only three matches this Ranji Trophy season, Unadkat led the side in all those matches and took 17 wickets at an average of 13.64, including a hat-trick against Delhi.
It is unlikely that India will change their bowling attack comprising Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj for the second Test in Delhi.
Comments