IPL auction 2018: A left-arm fast bowler, Jaydev Unadkat was the strkie bowler for India U19 squad in the 2010 World Cup in New Zealand. He first came into limelight at the Duleep Sinh School Cricket in Porbandar, where he impressed his coach Ram Odedra with his bowling action and ability to land the ball on the seam. After the World Cup, the 26-year-old seamer was handed an Indian Premier League contract by the Kolkata Knight Riders where he impressed the then bowling coach Wasim Akram. The Pakistani legend had identified him as one for the future. Unadkat was a surprise when he came into the IPL auction 2018 because as soon as he was introduced to the franchises everyone went hammers and tongs to retain his services. It was the Rajasthan Royals, who later bought him for a whopping Rs 11.5 crore. He is the second most expensive player after Ben Stokes and interestingly, he is also in the RR squad and was bought for Rs 12.5 crore.
Unadkat in June 2010 was picked up for India A’s tour of England where he had a dream first-class debut, taking a match-winning 13 for 103 against West Indies A at Grace Road. A month later, he joined the Indian Test squad in Sri Lanka as a nets bowler and was included in the squad for the year-end tour of South Africa, where he made his Test debut at Centurion. However, it was a forgettable one, as he went wicketless in 26 overs for 101 runs. He was duly dropped from the Test team, and made a return to the domestic circuit.
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A significant breakthrough came during India’s A tour of New Zealand in 2012-13, where he picked up nine List-A wickets at an average of 15.77 with two four-wicket hauls. He then enjoyed his breakthrough campaign with Royal Challengers Bangalore, finishing joint-second on the team’s wicket-takers list.
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His consistent performances helped him gain selection for India’s tour of Zimbabwe in July 2013, where he made his ODI debut. It proved a largely successful trip, as he picked up eight wickets in five matches. He later played two more ODIs in the upcoming home season – against Australia and West Indies – but went wicketless in both.
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He spent a considerable time off the field due to a stress fracture he picked up in 2014 and came back in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season with as many as 40 wickets that included four five-wicket hauls to charge Saurashtra to the finals. He reveled in the semi-finals with 11 wickets against Assam, days after he was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 1.6 crore in the IPL auction in February 2016.
