There was no pressure to replace Kuldeep, playing domestic cricket helped: Unadkat

New Delhi. Jaydev Unadkat, playing Test for India for the first time in 12 years, kept his ‘promise’ with a brilliant performance. The extent to which he yearns to play Test cricket was evident in January when one of his tweets went viral. He wrote, “Dear ‘Red Ball’, please give me one more chance”. You will be proud, that’s my promise.” Unadkat said in an interview to PTI after his return from Bangladesh, “Everyone thought I was talking about a return to the national team. I was eager to play cricket with the red ball as the Ranji Trophy was again postponed due to Corona.

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Unadkat last played a Test in 2010 in a team that also featured Sachin Tendulkar and current head coach Rahul Dravid. He played the second Test against Bangladesh now as Mohammed Shami was not fully fit. He reached Bangladesh only after the start of the first Test due to a delay in getting a visa, but was replaced by Kuldeep Yadav in the second Test. The exclusion of Kuldeep, who took eight wickets in the first Test, sparked a lot of controversy.

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He took the first Test wicket in the form of Zakir Hasan. He said, “It will be one of the golden memories of my career. I had dreamed of taking a Test wicket a thousand times.” Asked if he felt any pressure after replacing Kuldeep, he said, “Not at all. When things happen when you don’t expect, they must be accepted. I just wanted to contribute. Playing domestic cricket has benefited me a lot.