Indian pacer Jaydev Unadkat is set to return to Sussex County Cricket Club for the final leg of the ongoing County Championship, despite having been overlooked for the upcoming Duleep Trophy. The squads for the prestigious domestic event, which had the BCCI selection panel finally coming up with it, did not include Unadkat’s name. But that did not deter the experienced left-arm seamer, who joins his “second home” Sussex in an optimistic mood.
Unadkat – with whom English cricket holds a special affinity, went on to post an emotional video message in welcome onto social media: “I’m really happy to be back here. Hove is my second home. Fantastic season so far by the team, so let’s hope we can pull through in the second leg and get back into Division One, where we belong. Cheers.”.
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This is a second stint at Sussex, where he had earlier played four matches for the county and picked up 11 wickets. It was a game against Leicestershire that went on to become his best performance during the stint, with the left-arm medium pacer returning figures of 6/94 in the second innings to help Sussex snatch a 15-run victory.
Good to be back! 👊🏼🦈 https://t.co/Rd2x8SBB6S
— Jaydev Unadkat (@JUnadkat) August 21, 2024
Sussex Head Coach Paul Farbrace expressed his delight in equal measure over Unadkat’s signing. He also praised the Indian pacer for his professionalism and the type of positive influence he had on the dressing room.
“We are all delighted that Jaydev is returning for the final five championship matches. Jaydev lived up to the expectation that he would not only showcase his class on the field but also be a fantastic person off it.”. He did everything he could to help our players, and he’s given fantastic knowledge,” Farbrace said.
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Unadkat leads Saurashtra in Indian domestic cricket and has an excellent first-class record of 403 wickets from 114 matches, including 23 five-wicket hauls. He has also played for India in all three formats, with the most recent of his appearances coming in a Test against the West Indies in 2023.
