Jaydev Unadkat has been in the form of his life. Consistent right through the season with his penetrative spells, he played a big role in taking Saurashtra into the final of the Ranji Trophy.
With 65 wickets so far this season, Unadkat has surpassed Dodda Ganesh, who topped the bowling charts among pacers with 62 wickets in 1998-99.
The Saurashtra captain is only four wickets away from overtaking spinner Ashutosh Aman’s tally of 68 scalps in the 2018-19 season.
Unadkat believes Saurashtra have a slight edge over Bengal when they lock horns in the final in Rajkot from Monday. “We will be playing at our home, we know the conditions and atmosphere. I think that would give us five to 10 per cent advantage, but nothing more than that.
“Two best teams of the season will play against each other in the final. I hope it will be an exciting contest between bat and ball,” Unadkat told The Telegraph on Friday.
The 28-year-old left-arm seamer is putting team goals ahead of personal achievements.
“I do not have any personal aim. I just want to do the basics right. But obviously as a captain, I would want to win the trophy.
“We all pushed hard for that and are ready to give our best in the final too.
“Bengal are a strong side and that is why they are in the final. But I just want to think about my team. We are only one win away from the trophy, we don’t want to let go this opportunity,” the Saurashtra captain said.
Asked about the strengths of his side he said: “Team bonding remains our main strength. We always play as a team and will do that in the final too.”
Experienced batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who was part of India’s Test squad in New Zealand, would be available for the final. Unadkat thinks Pujara’s inclusion would definitely strengthen his squad.
“Obviously Pujara’s presence will help us in a big way. I don’t need to say how good a batsman he is.
“We are happy that we will get him for the final. Opponents will have to plan a strategy for him. Inclusion of Pujara is a definite advantage,” Unadkat said.
“Our batsmen Arpit Vasavada, Sheldon Jackson, Chirag Jani and Harvik Desai are doing well and hopefully they will showcase their form in the final as well,” he said.
Unadkat feels fitness has been the secret behind his success this season.
“Experience has matured me a lot but I did some special fitness training in the UK before the start of the season, which benefited me a lot,” JD — as Unadkat is fondly called by teammates — said.
“I made some adjustments to my bowling as well which also helped,” the pacer said.
He reads books frequently which helps him to stay motivated and focused.
“I recently finished reading Blink, written by Malcolm Gladwell. It presents in popular science format research from psychology and behavioural economics,” he said.
He also thanked legendary Pakistan bowler Wasim Akram, who was his bowling coach at Kolkata Knight Riders for three seasons.
“At a very young age I got a chance to play for KKR. Akram was then the bowling coach of the team. He gave me some important tips that time, which helped me.”
Unadkat’s first priority is to win the Ranji Trophy and his ultimate goal is to play for Team India consistently.
“I have been doing my best but the rest in not in my hands. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to play for India… whenever I get the chance I will give my best,” the pacer, who has played one Test, seven ODIs and 10 T20Is, said.
The pacer loves the City of Joy and calls it his ‘second home’.
“I enjoyed my time in Calcutta very much. The cruise on the Ganges, the various places of the city — Victoria Memorial, Prinsep Ghat and many more. Only thing which I didn’t enjoy much was the food. I mostly prefer to eat vegetables so I didn’t taste the fish,” he said.
“I still remember the first time I played at the Eden for KKR. It was memorable experience.
“I know if we won the Ranji Trophy, the people of Bengal would he unhappy, but I am up for my job,” he concluded.
Abhimanyu Easwaran and his boys would be keen to prove Unadkat wrong.