Jaydev Unadkat deserves India recall, feels Karsan Ghavri

RAJKOT: Karsan Ghavri, who quit coaching on a winning note, is convinced that Jaydev Unadkat deserves another chance to represent the country. The left-arm seamer picked up 67 wickets in this Ranji season, just one less than the all-time record of Bihar’s Ashutosh Aman, in 2018-19.
“I do feel Unadkat should get a national call-up again,” Ghavri told TOI on Saturday.Impressed with Unadkat’s variations, the former India pacer said: “He can bring the ball in and also take it away from the batsman.”
At the same time, “he (Unadkat) is very consistent and can keep bowling in the same area,” Ghavri pointed out.
The former Mumbai player feels Unadkat can be a handy option for the Indian Test squad.
“He has worked on his fitness and can bowl long spells now. He can operate with the new ball and also handle the old one. So you can use him in all situations,” Ghavri made his point.
He did, however, agree that it’s difficult to fit in Unadkat in the current Indian team.
“Yes it’s true we have a great pace unit now. But I will say the national selectors can keep Unadkat in mind in case they want to rest somebody,” Ghavri felt.
The 69-year-old said a left-arm pacer will also add variety to the Indian pace attack.
“All our pacers are right-handed. A left-hander, thus, provides you a different option. A right-hand, left-hand combination often unsettles batsmen,” Ghavri, who himself shared the new ball with Kapil Dev once, remarked.
‘Plenty of scope for improvement’
They may have missed out on the top prize, but there were plenty of positives to take away for the Bengal team from the Ranji Trophy campaign.
Arun Lal’s boys didn’t make a great start, failing to make the title rounds in the 50-over and T20 meets. But as the season progressed, the Bengal team grew in confidence.
Praising the players for their fine performance, Lal said a lot still needs to be done.
“We have promised each other to resolve our deficiencies. We are working on improvements and there are plenty of areas to work on,” Lal felt.
“See, winning trophies is important but what is more important is consistency... we have to do better. We need to play the knockout rounds every season,” he added.