Starting from scratch, Jaydev Unadkat picks up pieces
Unadkat has become sharper by an extra yard or two but he’s more inclined to stick to his strength.
He got 13 overs in the season opener against Tripura. Against Jharkhand he bowled five. The last match against Hyderabad was the worst, as Jaydev Unadkat was used for only two overs. Saurashtra played their first three Ranji Trophy matches on Rajkot turners and the left-arm seamer had been peripheral.
Little wonder then that Unadkat came to Delhi with itching fingers. His eyes lit up when he saw some grass on the Palam Ground pitch. He knew he would get his chances here, in the fourth round Ranji Trophy fixture against Services. Unadkat bowled 23 overs on Day One, he bowled his heart out and returned with 6/80.
“I was hungry. I had bowled very little in the first three matches as we played on rank turners. This has to be a very important season for me as I’m working hard to get back into the (national selectors’) scheme of things. A five-wicket haul always gives you confidence,” Unadkat said.
Perhaps he was not quite ready for the top level when he made his Test debut against South Africa at Centurion five years ago. Unadkat was only 19 then and looked a little out of place. A frail teenager, he had been criticised for his lack of pace. He played seven ODIs as well before being discarded from the set-up. His talent, however, always kept him on the fringes but the lower back injury that he suffered last year was a serious setback. “I had a stress fracture in my lower back which kept me out of the game for over four months. I missed almost the entire Ranji season last term (played only one game). It was frustrating but I didn’t let it upset my focus. In fact, I looked at the positive side of it as the lay-off presented me with an opportunity to analyse my bowling. I dissected the technical side of it and made necessary changes,” Unadkat said.
“I was falling a bit on my delivery stride. I needed to work on that and go straight at the batters. I put in a lot of hard work to rectify it. I also made a few other minor adjustments. I’ve got my rhythm back. The injury in a way was a blessing in disguise despite the fact that it forced me to start it all over again.”
Unadkat has become sharper by an extra yard or two but he’s more inclined to stick to his strength. “I never thought about pace. I was never an express bowler. I concentrate on swing and accuracy. I’m still bowling at a pace which I’m comfortable at. Of course, as I’ve grown (older) and added muscles, I’ve added a couple of extra yards to my bowling.”
His Ranji team coach Shitanshu Kotak feels the bowler has benefited from weight training and now can bowl long spells. “Today, he got one wicket upfront but made real inroads in his third spell, when he bowled nine overs non-stop and bagged four,” said Kotak.
Brief scores: Services 254 in 69 overs (Rajat Paliwal 121; Jaydev Unadkat 6/80) vs Saurashtra 19/0 in 10 overs.
