Motivation from 'Mahi bhai' and 'Smithy' the reason behind his success, feels Jaydev Unadkat

Riding on stellar performances from a variety of players in their squad, the Rising Pune Supergiant have made it to the grand finale of the significant 10^th edition of the Indian Premier League. While heavyweights like MS Dhoni, Steve Smith and Ben Stokes have been on point with their contributions the RPS have been successful in bringing up bright future prospects like Rahul Tripathi.

Tripathi might have been the fulcrum of success for the team at the initial stages but it was the bowling department that pulled up their socks and proved their mettle in order to secure a spot in the finals for the Pune-based franchise.

When we talk about the RPS bowling unit, Jaydev Unadkat aces the list without a shade of doubt. The Porbandar born quickie currently stands second to only Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the hunt for the Purple cap with 22 wickets under his belt.

Speaking about the key to his success, Unadkat highlighted the fact that the bowler witnessed a lack of support from his previous captains in the earlier seasons. He also admitted to the fact that he fell short of the hunger required to conquer matches at such a big stage.

In an exclusive interview with The Hindu, Unadkat was quoted “In the last couple of years, I didn’t get much of a support from the past captains despite having a fruitful domestic season,”

“Probably that hunger to do well was the difference from the past couple of seasons.

“Skill-wise, I have always got it in me. It’s just about capitalising on it. The first match was important this season and once I did well, I just built on that.”

The 25-year old left armer’s previous two editions in the cash-rich tournament have been absolutely horrific. In his debut match with the Delhi Daredevils he was hammered for 30 runs from his 3 overs and was dropped ever since for the rest of the tournament. His 2016 campaign was a similar one as he was not fortunate enough to play more than one match again.

But the current season has been a rollercoaster ride for the bowler with the backing of coach Stephen Fleming, skipper Steve Smith and the ever so supportive Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

“When I bowled the last over to Rohit (MI captain Rohit Sharma), we had planned to bowl slower ones from outside the crease. He hit me for a six. That was the moment Smithy came to me and told me, I’d back you all the way. If you want to bowl the same ball, go for it”. That’s something which motivates the bowler,” Unadkat said.

“Mahibhai, when I took those (five) wickets against Sunrisers, in between I went for a boundary.

“He came up to me and said “you should have not allowed the pressure to be released and you’re good enough to bowl against these kind of batsmen”. Those points at times help you execute the plans in the middle.”

Though Unadkat boasts of a staggering domestic career, he has been a victim of criticism for his forgetful Test debut against the Proteas in 2010.

“I have overcome that match long time ago but the hat-trick that I took (against Sunrisers) would surely be one of the most important events of my career. I hope to build on it and help RPS lift the trophy,” added Unadkat.