IND vs SL: Sanjay Manjrekar feels Jaydev Unadkat is unlucky to miss out on the national squad

IND vs SL: Sanjay Manjrekar feels Jaydev Unadkat is unlucky to miss out on the national squad

Sanjay Manjrekar and Jaydev Unadkat

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has reckoned that Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat should have made it to the squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently picked a 20-member squad along with five net bowlers for the limited-overs series against SL. Ace opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan was named as the captain of the side while Bhuvneshwar Kumar was appointed as his deputy. Moreover, many fresh faces were also there in the Indian contingent set to leave for the island nation.

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Unadkat has done exceptionally well for his domestic team in the past years. Manjrekar also opined that there aren’t many pace bowling options available in the squad and there could definitely be a spot for the 29-year-old.

“I wonder whether they would have included Unadkat as a net bowler considering his experience and he’s an India player… a seasoned First-Class bowler. He’s unlucky to miss out. When you look at the seam department, it’s not the strongest because the quality bowlers are playing Test cricket for India,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.

‘Unadkat has never been an IPL raging success’: Manjrekar

Jaydev Unadkat
Jaydev Unadkat

Sanjay Manjrekar further added that Unadkat has never been a raging success in the Indian Premier League (IPL), unlike his First-Class level performance. 

“Unadkat would feel hard done by. He’s never been an IPL raging success. I mean, he has been brilliant at the First-Class level. This year though I think there were a couple of performances where he’s shown his class. So yes, there are a few that you would think have missed out. But that’s always the case,” he said.

“When you look at the seam-bowling options, you’ve got a Sakariya, you’ve got someone like a Pandya who can bowl. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Saini… maybe Unadkat might have felt he could have got a nod there.”

Jaydev Unadkat made his international debut against South Africa back in 2010 and has been part of seven ODIs and 10 T20Is since then. The Porbandar born has seven and 14 wickets respectively in both the formats against his name.

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