India’s Test Squad against Bangladesh, Jaydev Unadkat to replace Shami in India’s Test Squad against Bangladesh: Saurashtra pacer Jaydev Unadkat has been recalled by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh. He will replace Mohammad Shami in the Indian squad.
Veteran speedster Mohammad Shami was earlier reported to have not recovered from a bowling arm stress injury. Shami is currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Bangalore for further rehab.
Unadkat, who recently spearheaded Saurashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022, was sublime in his performance in the domestic circuit. The fast bowler scalped 19 wickets in just 10 outings in the VHT 2022 and led his team to the title victory.
Interestingly, Jaydev Unadkat’s name will be in history books if he gets to play in either of the two test matches against Bangladesh. He will set a record for the lengthiest gap between the two test matches by an Indian player. The record is presently held by wicketkeeper batter Parthiv Patel.
The 31-year-old speedster made his solitary test appearance for India way back in 2010 against South Africa in Centurian. Since his test debut, he went off the selector’s radar in the traditional format of cricket. In the meantime, Unadkat has featured in seven ODIs and 10 Twenty20 Internationals.
Although Jaydev Unadkat isn’t a perfect like-for-like replacement for Mohammad Shami, his selection has been purely on the basis of his current form.
ALSO READ: IPL 2023 start date revealed? IPL 2023 likely to start on April 1st: Reports
Meanwhile, team India will undergo one more change in the Indian test squad ahead of the 1st test against Bangladesh. As per the reports, skipper Rohit Sharma will miss the opening test at Chittogram owing to the finger dislocation injury he suffered in the second ODI.
Young Abhimanyu Eshwaran, who is currently on India A tour in Bangladesh, is likely to be called as Rohit’s replacement. KL Rahul will oversee the leadership duties in Rohit Sharma’s absence.
India’s Test Squad against Bangladesh (1st Test):
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.