File photo of Jaydev Unadkat.
Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta feels that the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) senior selection committee should have included left-arm pace bowler Jaydev Unadkat for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka between July 13 and 25.
India will play three ODIs followed by an equal number of T20I during their tour of the island nation.
The Indian cricket board had on Thursday announced a 20-member squad for the tour with Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the captain and vice-captain. Five net bowlers were also picked for the tour.
Gujarat's 23-year-old pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla and another 23-year-old Chetan Sakariya, who is Unadkat's Saurashtra teammate, were picked ahead of the left-arm bowler.
In the absence of injured T. Natarajan and with no other left-arm pacer in sight, Unadkat who took 67 wickets in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season and eight wickets in six Vijay Hazare Trophy matches this year at an economy rate of 5.88, was a strong contender to make it to the side for Sri Lanka.
"You could have included a couple of other players too, what did they do wrong? Players like Jaydev Unadkat and even Rahul Tewatia, who was part of the squad during the last series, could have been included. Wouldn't have made any difference to take 27 instead of 25," Dasgupta said on his YouTube channel.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that someone as "hardworking and passionate" as Unadkat should definitely have been in the squad.
"I don't have much to say about the team selection. There are 20 players, so whoever was in contention has made it. There can't be any surprises. I really like Jaydev Unadkat because he is so hardworking and passionate," the wicket-keeper batsman said.
"Not just in the IPL, he bowls 20-25 overs in the Ranji Trophy, works hard and is absolutely brilliant. Like I said before, if you are taking 25, could have taken 26 as well it would have made no difference," he added.
