In another big blow to India’s preparations for the World Test Championship 2023 final, pacer Jaydev Unadkat injured his shoulder during Lucknow Super Giants’ training session on Monday, May 1.
The experienced pacer was earlier named in India’s 15-member squad for the final which is scheduled to start on June 7 at London’s The Oval. But his latest injury is a big concern for the Indian team which is looking thin in the pace bowling department in the absence of injured star Jasprit Bumrah.
Indian Premier League shared a video of the player’s injury incident prior to the LSG’s latest clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Unadkat stumbled after his delivery and awkwardly landed on his left shoulder. It seems a minor niggle as the player is expected to recover on time for the final against Australia. Unadkat’s scan reports are expected to arrive on Tuesday evening as the BCCI and Indian management sweat over the pacer’s availability for the final.
Unadkat returned to an international setup after a gap of 12 years as he featured in the second Test against Bangladesh in December 2022. He was part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 but didn’t get a chance in a spin-dominated series.
However, The Oval’s pitch is expected to favor pacers and the Indian team is likely to switch back to a three-man pace attack. Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami will be leading the pace attack with Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, and Unadkat fighting for the third-choice spot. Umesh and Shardul are also struggling with minor injuries at the moment but are expected to regain full fitness before the WTC final.
Unadkat has been restricted to just three matches in IPL 2023 where he failed to pick any wickets while conceding 11.50 runs per over.
