Unadkat eying ODI spot with good showing in T20 tri-series

Saurashtra pacer Jaydev Unadkat is all set to lead the Indian pace attack in the upcoming Nidahas T20 Trophy in Sri Lanka. Unadkat, along with Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj will form the pace-trio in the absence of experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah who have been rested after the hectic tour of South Africa. The 26-year-old, high on confidence after a good show in South Africa wants to use the opportunity to stake a claim in the ODI squad with an eye on the World Cup next year.

New Delhi: Saurashtra pacer Jaydev Unadkat is all set to lead the Indian pace attack in the upcoming Nidahas T20 Trophy in Sri Lanka. Unadkat, along with Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj will form the pace-trio in the absence of experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah who have been rested after the hectic tour of South Africa. The 26-year-old, high on confidence after a good show in South Africa wants to use the opportunity to stake a claim in the ODI squad with an eye on the World Cup next year.

“I will definitely think that this is a build up for the big tournaments coming up, not just the World T20, but the limited-overs World Cup as well. As I said, it is about pushing for place in the team, being able to execute skills in the middle now that I have the confidence of the (team) management and the skipper," the left-arm pacer told PTI.

Unatkat who claimed 4 wickets and was awarded Man of the Series against Sri Lanka in December revealed that his plans would remain the same against the island nation.

“It will be an advantage, for sure, having known their strengths and how they play in situations. Those were T20s and we are again playing T20s. So that will be an advantage for us to plan things for their batsman in the middle and a couple of new guys are coming in and we will be looking to plan for them too,” he said.

The pacer claimed 1/33 in Johannesburg and 2/42 in Centurion also asserted that the tour of South Africa was as a good learning curve.

“It (South Africa tour) was a good learning experience. The wickets were different and the boundaries were in fact, a bit smaller than what we are used to playing here in India. Experience wise it was good for me to bowl on those wickets and to those batsmen in their own backyard and the pressure was high of playing South Africa in South Africa," he added.

The Nidahas T20 Trophy featuring hosts Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh will begin from 6^th March. All matches will be played at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.