Unadkat has been recalled to the Indian Test squad for the Bangladesh series

The left-arm bowler Jaydev Unadkat has been called up to the India team for the Test series in Bangladesh. Unadkat, who recently bowled Saurashtra to the Vijay Hazare Trophy victory, has been selected in lieu of Mohammed Shami, who has been ruled out of the series owing to bowling arm tension. Should Unadkat get to play in either of the Tests in Bangladesh, he will be setting a record for the lengthiest gap between two Tests by an Indian cricketer, which is currently held by Parthiv Patel.  

Unadkat replacing Shami may not be a like-for-like replacement, but sources inside the Indian Cricket Board have told that the experienced bowler was chosen based on his current form. He was the leading wicket-taker in the just finished Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 19 scalps in 10 games.

Unadkat, one of the most successful pacers in Indian domestic cricket, has 353 wickets in 96 matches, including a record-breaking 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season in which he scalped 67 wickets to assist Saurashtra win their maiden Ranji Trophy championship.

Furthermore, there is a school of thought that the veteran pacer has demonstrated a high level of maturity in all formats, and he was on the minds of the departing selection committee, which supposedly came near to selecting him for the India squad several times. Unadkat, who is based in Rajkot, will join the India squad in Dhaka by Sunday.

The Indian team in Bangladesh has been plagued with injuries with quite a few players, including skipper Rohit Sharma, coming on the list. It is still not clear if the skipper has been totally ruled out of the series. Rohit, who received a 'blow on his thumb' during the second ODI in Dhaka on December 7, is expected to be available for the second Test (December 22-26). KL Rahul will captain the team in the first Test (December 14-18).

Abhimanyu Easwaran, who captained India A in a two-match series that concluded on Friday, might be asked to fill in for Rohit in the first Test.

Likely squad for 1st Test (December 14-18): KL Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK, VC), KS Bharat (WK), Saurabh Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohd. Siraj and Umesh Yadav.