Jaydev Unadkat. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Team India seems to be in trouble ahead of the forthcoming World Test Championship final 2023 as left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat has sustained an injury while training for his IPL franchise, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
While the 31-year-old was included in India’s ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final squad, the pacer has, however, endured a left-shoulder injury while training in the nets for Super Giants in Lucknow.
The final of the red-ball ICC mega event is scheduled to be played against fierce rivals Australia, starting June 7 at The Oval in London. Though the player is confirmed to miss the remainder of the IPL 2023 season, he is likely to recover in time for the WTC final, as per reports.
It is understood that Unadkat will head for scans in Mumbai and is expected to join the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehab. Despite relishing a fine run in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy 2022/23 season, claiming 26 wickets in mere four matches and winning the title with Saurashtra, it remains to be seen if the pacer can recover swiftly and help India fight hard for the coveted mace.
However, with the injury in place, the think tank may study alternative plans in the form of other pacers who could join the side as his backup. On that note, we take a look at three such pacers who could potentially replace Unadkat in India’s WTC set-up with the final on the horizon-
Three players who can replace Jaydev Unadkat in India’s WTC squad
3. Mukesh Kumar
Mukesh Kumar. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Mukesh Kumar played an instrumental role in Bengal’s Ranji Trophy campaign, helping them cruise to the finals of the event. The 29-year-old pacer racked up 22 wickets in five matches with an individual best of 4/43.
Following the Ranji season, he also got four scalps in the Irani Cup for Rest of India in their win against Madhya Pradesh. Moreover, he prevented the rival team from targeting him and concluded with economical figures of 1.91 and 2.83 in the two innings, respectively.
Sporting the outfit of Delhi Capitals in the IPL, Mukesh has featured in seven matches thus far but has failed to make the kind of impact that he would have liked. The Bihar-born pacer has claimed merely five wickets in the league thus far. However, keeping in mind his domestic numbers, the selection committee could ponder over the idea of having him as a backup for Unadkat in the WTC final.
2. Tushar Deshpande
Tushar Deshpande (Photo Source: Twitter)
The 27-year-old Mumbai-born pacer is currently plying his trade for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Tushar is the joint-highest wicket-taker in the top-tier league, with 17 wickets in nine games and is vying for the IPL Purple Cap, despite consistently leaking runs.
The pacer relished a fine season in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai as he collected 23 wickets in six outings, with his best being 5/37 at an average economy of 3.19. While the pacer is still yet to don the whites for India, it remains to be seen if the think tank will back him to feature in the summit clash of the event.
Undoubtedly, his numbers have been decent when it comes to getting the breakthroughs for his side. Though there is still room for improvement in particular areas, a fresh face in the contingent could be an optimal move since the team already boasts the expertise of Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Umesh Yadav in the pace attack.
1. Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Ishant Sharma is relishing arguably one of the finest comebacks in the ongoing 16th edition of the IPL. The veteran pacer claimed his first scalp after a record 718 days against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), donning the Delhi Capitals (DC) outfit.
Since then, the pacer has played four games in the top-tier league and already got six wickets under his belt. In addition to this, he has also been economical in all his outings which has been a big plus point for the franchise.
With Unadkat’s injury in place, Ishant has plenty of experience of playing in the big matches and the case in London will be no different. He last donned the whites for India in November 2021 in the first Test against New Zealand but failed to get any breakthroughs in the contest.
Considering his current form coupled with vast experience, the think tank could be tempted to think about having Ishant back in the set-up for the WTC Final.