Ravichandran Ashwin hails ‘torchbearer’ Unadkat after India return, demands more exposure to domestic cricket

Unadkat
made
a
comeback
after
12
years
when
he
played
in
the
second
Test
against
Bangladesh
at
Mirpur
and
picked
up
three
wickets
in
the
India
victory.

“He
posed
with
the
trophy
and
I
told
him
you
could
lift
this
trophy
because
of
the
other
trophy
(Ranji
trophy)
that
you
lifted.
You
completely
deserve
for
all
what
you
have
done
for
Saurashtra
cricket,”
Ashwin
said
on
his
Tamil
YouTube
Channel
in
a
segment
called
‘Kutty
Story’.

Having
led
them
to
the
Ranji
Trophy
title
in
2020
with
67
wickets,
the
Saurashtra
skipper
was
once
again
at
the
forefront
of
their
Vijay
Hazare
Trophy
triumph
this
year,
which
played
a
huge
part
in
his
team
India
selection.

“He
bowled
like
an
experienced
pro
and
it
is
not
easy.
Everyone
will
have
white
ball
memory
and
how
well
he
didn’t
bowl
for
Rajasthan
and
so
on.
But
go
and
see
his
red
ball
numbers,”
Ashwin
added.

Unadkat
claimed
three
wickets
in
the
Mirpur
Test.
And
Ashwin
says
the
Saurashtra
pacer
has
been
a
‘torchbearer’ for
his
domestic
team,
as
the
pacer
has
been
at
the
nucleus
of
all
their
successes.

After
the
success
of
IPL,
the
T20
tournament
has
become
a
constant
feeder
for
Team
India
but
Ashwin
said
India’s
domestic
tournaments
such
as
Ranji
Trophy,
Duleep
Trophy
have
been
the
real
platform
for
Indian
talents.

“In
India,
if
there
is
a
hot
selling
topic,
everyone
will
have
a
say
about
that.
They
forget
other
people’s
struggles.
We
should
take
a
closer
look
at
our
domestic
cricket.
IPL
is
changing
lives
and
it
takes
centre
stage
as
its
bread
and
butter.
They
are
showing
their
ability
in
IPL
and
getting
recognition
with
Test
and
ODI
call-ups.
But
70
to
80
per
cent
of
people
playing
cricket
in
India
are
smashing
doors
with
performances
in
Ranji
Trophy,”
he
added.

Ashwin
went
on
to
cite
examples
of
other
domestic
stalwarts
like
Sarfaraz
Khan,
Yashasvi
Jaiswal,
Shahbaz
Nadeem
and
Abhimanyu
Easwaran.

“I
can
give
you
many
examples.
Unadkat,
Saurabh
Kumar.
He
plays
for
UP.
He
has
a
contract
with
Kings
XI
but
consistently
gets
wickets
in
first-class
cricket,”
he
said.
Saurabh
Kumar
was
also
included
in
the
Bangladesh
tests
but
the
spinner
didn’t
get
a
chance
to
make
his
debut.
He
did
exceedingly
well
for
India
A
against
Bangladesh
recently,
picking
up
15
wickets
in
two
Tests.

He
also
went
on
to
praise
Bengal
captain
Abhimanyu
Easwaran
and
Mumbai
player
Sarfaraz
Khan
for
their
contributions
in
the
domestic
circuit.

Ashwin
also
voiced
against
the
unfair
criticism
a
player
gets
if
he
fails
in
the
IPL
or
in
international
matches.
Ashwin
added
that
people
tend
to
forget
players’
sacrifices
and
overlook
their
domestic
performances
as
those
matches
are
not
easily
accessible
or
not
glamorous.

“Ranji,
Duleep,
Irani
and
India
A
and
if
you
fail
at
one
level
you
will
be
criticised.
Just
because
in
IPL
they
perform
in
front
of
our
eyes,
we
recognise
them
but
we
fail
to
recognise
the
hard
work
of
other
cricketers,”
Ashwin
further
elaborated.

Ravichandran
Ashwin
made
a
giant
leap
in
the
latest
ICC
test
rankings
after
his
impressive
display
against
Bangladesh.
He
starred
with
both
bat
and
ball
in
the
second
match.
Ashwin,
along
with
Shreyas
Iyer,
added
71
crucial
runs
to
get
India
over
the
line
in
the
2nd
test
at
Mirpur.