When a lanky 19-year-old Jaydev Unadkat made his Test debut, against South Africa in Centurion back in 2010, he faced the dominant troika of Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers at the peak of their powers. He went wicketless in the only innings India got to bowl in that match with the MS Dhoni-led side losing by an innings and 25 runs. And the long-wait of ‘one more chance’ started for the young left-arm seamer from Saurashtra.
Unadkat continued his journey in domestic cricket and kept on putting the hard yards. Soon after being named the captain of Saurashtra and led the side to Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy triumphs. Meanwhile, Unadkat matured into a shrewd left-arm pacer who enjoyed tough oppositions and sessions, sometimes in pitches which had ‘nothing’ for pacers. He ended up bagging 67 wickets in the 2019/20 season – the most for anyone in a Ranji season. In total, he has 192 scalps in the last six season. The performances helped the now domestic veteran to get back into the Indian Test team in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, starting December 14, which is also crucial to India’s chances in the World Test Championship final race.
As India gear up to take on the Bangladesh in the Test series, Unadkat, in an exclusive interview with Revsportz talked about a range of things starting from his re-call, learnings from domestic cricket, leading Saurashtra, Team India dream, family and much more.
Excerpts:
Subhayan Chakraborty: Congratulations on the India call-up after a long wait of 12 years. What was your first reaction after getting the news?
Jaydev Unadkat: Thank you. It’s been a journey worth every single moment of it. The first reaction obviously was those of a lot of emotions. Happy, joyous. At different times, I felt that everything has its own time and destiny. So really happy and humbled. There can’t be a better feeling than this, to be honest, the way things have taken shape in the last couple of years. So a lot of emotion when I heard about it.
Your tweet is going viral now. What’s special about red-ball?
Jaydev Unadkat: That was a time when Ranji Trophy had stopped, was postponed after we didn’t have a full red-ball season for one year after COVID. I was missing red ball action, something that I really enjoy and cherish being out there and fighting in those conditions. Setting up the batsman and everything that’s associated with the red ball. I was missing that action. The last three four years all the seasons have been special and Saurashtra, which actually gave me the chance to showcase myself, has shown that we are a force in the domestic circuit and then obviously it has translated into my individual performances as well.
Dear red ball, please give me one more chance.. I’ll make you proud, promise! pic.twitter.com/ThPUOpRlyR
— Jaydev Unadkat (@JUnadkat) January 4, 2022
What role has your family, your wife Rinny played in your career?
Jaydev Unadkat: That’s the most important part of the journey, to be honest. Since I’ve met Rinny in the last couple of years, we won the Ranji Trophy first and then there was a lot of time where we spent, had our moments together and because of COVID , not a lot of things were happening and then, cricket restarted. Again, we won a trophy. So it has been a special journey with her. She now understands cricket a lot more than what she did when we met for the first time. She actually feels all the emotions with me. So it’s great to have a partner with me in this journey all too and then the family as well. I think they’ve been my pillars since the beginning or and all of us were in this together. So that feeling is special. I mean, it can’t be as special if you are alone or when everyone’s busy doing their own job, not caring about each other’s dreams and goals. So for me it has been special and I’m really glad and grateful that my family was in this with me throughout.
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You have toiled hard in the domestic circuit, arguably the most consistent seamer in the last few years. What did domestic cricket teach you in these 12 years?
Jaydev Unadkat: Bohot kuch change ho gaya hai inn 12 saalon mein (a lot has changed in these 12 years). There is a massive difference in terms of the competition, the kind of cricket that’s being played. People have become more fearless, more exposed to the higher levels because of the IPL now. So it’s become that much more competitive and it’s no longer a competition where just 4-5 teams are not competing and everyone else is just coming, competing and going back. It’s about 17-18 teams who are all equally good and competing with each other. It’s very competitive and that’s why it brings the best out of you as well. It’s the same in the domestic season that has gotten the best out of me.
It has taught me to fight In the toughest of conditions. It has taught me to come out of any situation at any point in the match and that’s why I can now say that that experience of playing domestic cricket in India is second to none. It teaches you a whole lot of things, not just cricket but apart from cricket as well. The journey, the places where we stay, the kind of environment that’s there around those games, you want to fight for a lot of things so it teaches you a lot of things in life in general.
Was it tough to see others making into the Indian team ahead of you?
Jaydev Unadkat: I wouldn’t say it was tough because when you are enjoying the journey, which I have been doing so far and I will do till I play cricket, I don’t think there’ll be moments where you are frustrated or where you are thinking that why not me and why others. I believe that if you do good things, things will fall in place at the end. And even now, right? Yes, I’ve got my break and I’ve been able to achieve what I’ve been working for in the last decade. There are a whole lot of things that are bound to happen and they will happen.
My job will be to carry forward the journey that I have started for myself, to keep enjoying the processes and to keep enjoying the game. That’s been going for me to keep enjoying every single game that I played, to have those contests and to keep challenging myself and to keep bettering myself I think that’s one thing that’s gonna be constant till the end of the game. So there’s no looking back from here. It’s been a wonderful journey and everything has taught me something or the other. So I won’t say it was tough at any point of time for me, to be honest.
What has changed for Jaydev Unadkat in these 12 years?
Jaydev Unadkat: Bohot kuch change ho gaya hai. Agar mai bowling action dekhu tab ka aur ab ka (A lot has changed. If I see my bowling action from then and now) that’s the major change I would say. Experience has obviously played a major role in that. I understand now what my strengths are, what my weaknesses are. I do have a lot of knowledge about how to get a batsman out. At that time, obviously at 19 in your raw, the skill sets were there but you know that knowledge of when to use the skills, how to use those skills maybe wasn’t up to where it is now. So that’s a major difference. And, you know, having led Saurashtra in the last three, four years has also taught me to look at things from others’ perspectives and not just my own perspective. So that has given me a broader idea about the game. So a lot of things have changed. I don’t even compare what I was and what I am now…it’s that much more different.
And what abour your leadership skills? Saurashtra have become a winning machine under your captaincy.
Jaydev Unadkat: I love to lead. And I wouldn’t have done it if I felt it was a burden to me. I do it because I enjoy it. It is something that comes naturally to me. I do love to look at things from others’ perspectives in terms of their games. You know how a spinner approaches a game, the batsman approaches, what their thinking is about the game. That has helped me in terms of helping the team achieve those goals as well. The culture that we have built is something that I always believed.
My beliefs are made around the fact that if you’re playing for the team, if you have a collective goal, if you have a few kinds of collective dreams, it becomes that much easier for individuals to then perform and achieve those dreams. That’s something that I have tried to instill in our team’s culture, and everyone has followed brilliantly.
There have been tough times for some in the team. We have been having those discussions with the guys who had to, at times modify their games as well. And they’ve all actually responded really well. And that’s why the team is actually doing what it is doing now. It’s because everyone was on the same page. And we actually enjoyed the whole journey of becoming a force in the domestic circuit. That’s what we wanted to do. And I think now we can say that Saurashtra is a formidable force across formats in domestic circuit.
How excited are you about the Ranji Trophy? It is back to its full format.
Jaydev Unadkat: Super excited! It’s the biggest trophy of them all. And we do believe that we can regain the trophy again this year. But for that, the processes, and challenges will be different. So, we’ll have to then again, start fresh. Yes, we have had a lot of success already in the season, but it will be a different format. So I hope that when I’m not with the team for the first couple of games, the guys start the journey well.
Then once me and Cheteshwar (Pujara) join in, we’ll be looking forward to again creating some special memories this season. But yeah, as you said, full season once again. So I’m really looking forward to this season.
How do you tackle trolls on social media?
Jaydev Unadkat: I’ve had a lot of times where I have felt the rage but then I have Rinny with me all the time. She makes sure that I remain calm while reading them or at times, not allowing me to read them. At the end of the day, you’re human and it’s bound to, at times, affect you but as I have now maintained a routine. I don’t really feel that they’re doing something wrong. It’s their job, I mean, it’s their livelihood, and people actually earn from it and you know, that’s fine on their part. You know, we do our jobs, they do their job, and if people are criticizing you they’re still recognizing you and that’s fine on my part. I mean, I do see them on a lighter note as well. At times, I do laugh at my own trolls and memes. We have our own Whatsapp group in the family and it runs on it sometimes. So it’s all in a good sense at the moment. There are no harsh feelings.
Now you are back in the Indian Test squad. Anything you want to achieve?
Jaydev Unadkat: I want to win games for the country. That is the ultimate dream. That has been the goal since I started playing cricket that I want to win games for the country. So that remains the same. Yeah, obviously I’ll have to follow the things that I have been doing till now. I’ll have to keep challenging myself to be better, to prove that I’m good enough at that level. But as I said, it’s about now. It’s now about enjoying the journey other than anything else. So I just want to be capable enough to contribute towards the team’s victory and that itself would be a dream come true for me whenever I am able to do that.
Your message to those who are toiling hard in domestic cricket and are seeki clarity in their careers?
Jaydev Unadkat: First and foremost is maintaining that discipline, that routine for yourself. I think there is no alternative to that. Develop your own work ethics and your own space where you are working and progressing towards what you want to achieve. I think its’ very important to have those individual goals.
Secondly, it’s also very important that we look at things from the team’s perspective because it’s a team game at the end. So, you know when you set a collective goal or when you are playing for whatever team; clubs team or a district team, or your state team, I think if you all come together and establish a pattern where you are supporting each other, enjoying the game with each other, enjoying each other’s success. And if you’re able to do that, that’s gonna help you individually a lot as well. Because at the end of the day, it’s a team game and you only win if everyone performs and you only get rewarded also if everyone performs and the team wins. So that’s really important for me that you can look at the things from the team’s perspective as well.
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What do you have to tell your supporters and well-wishers who have backed you through thick and thin in these 12 years?
Jaydev Unadkat: This one’s special because of all of them and for all the support that they have given me throughout this journey. So I just hope that the journey carries forward and brings a lot more for them to cheer for me and for me as well. To make it more special for them. So I’m really grateful to all of them who have been believing and supporting me, like I said, on social media as well. But it’s the beginning of something very special and I look forward to making everyone more and more proud from now on.
My beliefs are made around the fact that if you’re playing for the team, if you have a collective goal, if you have a few kinds of collective dreams, it becomes that much easier for individuals to then perform and achieve those dreams. That’s something that I have tried to instill in our team’s culture, and everyone has followed brilliantly.
There have been tough times for some in the team. We have been having those discussions with the guys who had to, at times modify their games as well. And they’ve all actually responded really well. And that’s why the team is actually doing what it is doing now. It’s because everyone was on the same page. And we actually enjoyed the whole journey of becoming a force in the domestic circuit. That’s what we wanted to do. And I think now we can say that Saurashtra is a formidable force across formats in domestic circuit.