Team India speedster Jaydev Unadkat returned to the national side after a long gap of 12 years after he was selected to play the second Test against Bangladesh on Thursday. Jaydev Unadkat last featured in an India XI back in 2010 when he participated in a five-day fixture against South Africa at Centurion, which incidentally was also his debut game in the whites. The left-arm seamer went wicketless in that match, and eventually never got a chance to play for India again until this week, when he made a comeback to the starting line-up at the expense of Kuldeep Yadav in Mirpur.
As Jaydev Unadkat was back in India colors after 12 years, he set a unique record for having the longest interval between two Test caps for the side. Between 2010 and 2022, Jaydev Unadkat missed a staggering 118 Test matches for India before being picked in the team for the ongoing second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka. By doing so, he broke the previous record held by Dinesh Karthik who missed 87 Tests between his two appearances for the national team. Overall, Jaydev Unadkat is in second place in the uncanny list of players who have the longest interval between their two Test matches with England's Gareth Batty on top as he didn't feature in 142 Tests on the trot for the Three Lions.
Here's the list (top 5)
142 – Gareth Batty (2005-16)
118 – Jaydev Unadkat (2010-22)
114 – Martin Bicknell (1993-2003)
109 – Floyd Reiffer (1999-09)
104 – Younis Ahmed (1969-87)
However, Rahul Dravid and KL Rahul's decision to bring Jaydev Unadkat into the team by excluding Kuldeep Yadav turned out quite controversial as several former India cricketers blasted them for their “shocking” move.
Interestingly, Kuldeep Yadav was the Man of the Match in the previous Test, having accomplished a five-wicket haul in the first essay before sending three more Bangladesh batters back to the pavilion in the next innings. Moreover, Kuldeep Yadav contributed with the bat as well, scoring a vital 40 runs in India's first innings.
1983 World Cup winner Sunil Gavaskar panned captain KL Rahul and Rahul Dravid, terming the decision as “unbelievable”.
“Dropping a Man of the Match, that is unbelievable. That’s the only word I can use and it’s a gentle word. I would like to use quite stronger words, but it’s unbelievable that you left out a man of the match, who got eight out of the 20 wickets,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network.
“You have got two other spinners. So surely, one of the other spinners could have been dropped. But this guy, who took eight wickets should have played today with due respect to what the pitch looks like,” the legendary India batter added.
The move was heavily criticized by former India pacer Dodda Ganesh who dubbed the decision as “shocking” and “ridiculous at the same time.
“Why does this happen so often to Kuldeep Yadav? You can't be doing this to him again and again. Please some one put an arm around his shoulder and tell him not to lose heart. Yes. It's tough being Kuldeep Yadav. Spare a thought for him,” Dodda Ganesh said on Twitter.
“Also the way the Bangladeshis struggled to pick him in the last Test makes this decision to leave him out today even more senseless and defies cricketing logic. You want your match-winner to warm the benches?” Dodda Ganesh questioned.
“I guess the think tank needs to be a bit more considerate while dealing with the youngsters who've done well; and tinker the team combo accordingly. Last time they dropped Karun (Nair) after his 303 not out to play an extra seamer at Hyderabad. And now this, with Kuldeep Yadav. Shocking. Ridiculous,” he noted.
But veteran India batter Dinesh Karthik defended KL Rahul and Rahul Dravid's decision to drop Kuldeep Yadav from the XI.
“We have to look at the situation holistically. Ashwin is our number one spinner, number two is Axar because of the performances he has given with Jadeja not being around. That leaves Kuldeep being number three,” Dinesh Karthik told Cricbuzz.
“Just one Test match won't get Kuldeep ahead of Axar. Axar has been doing well for quite some time now, he has actually been the leader of the spin bowling attack when Ashwin has had a tough day, Axar has backed him,” Dinesh Karthik explained.
“If Jadeja is there he obviously slots in for number two but for the moment Axar is number 2. And if they have decided looking at the wicket that there is going to be help for the medium pacers so lets go with three medium pacers and the axe had to fall on spinner then they went for Kuldeep Yadav, which is understandable,” he mentioned.
“A – Axar has always been their premier spinner along with Ashwin. B – He can give something with the bat. I know a lot of you'll will get angry for saying this because he got a vital 40 in the first match, but I think Kuldeep will know that his time will come,” DK elaborated.
“I feel this decision was a fair one considering how Axar has been bowling over a period of time. That is something we need to understand, we cannot quickly forget what Kuldeep has done and what Axar has done. But I'm sure this will make Kuldeep hungrier and he'll do well in the Australian series,” the wicketkeeper-batter concluded.
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