Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021: Jaydev Unadkat to lead Saurashtra; squad announced
Saurashtra Cricket Association, on Thursday, announced a 20-member squad for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. Experienced fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat has been named as the captain of the squad. The tournament will start on February 20 in which all the 37 domestic teams will be taking part.
Unadkat was almost the obvious choice as the captain after he led Saurashtra to a Ranji Trophy win in the 2019-20 season. He was also the highest wicket-taker in that tournament. Unfortunately, Saurashtra won’t be able to defend their Ranji Trophy during this season as the tournament won’t be played due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Along with Unadkat, notable names such as Avi Barot, Chirag Jani, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, and wicketkeeper-batsman Harvik Desai have also been named in the squad. Sitanshu Kotak will be the head coach of the side for this tournament. Prominent players of the team like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja aren’t available for selection. Pujara is with the Indian Test team currently, while Jadeja is still nursing an injury and isn’t expected to play in this tournament.
Saurashtra look to make a comeback after failures in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy
Saurashtra has been placed in the Group E along with Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Services, Haryana and Chandigarh. Their first match in the tournament will be against Jammu and Kashmir on February 21. All the matches of Group E will be played in Kolkata.
In the recently concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021, Saurashtra couldn’t manage to qualify for the knockout stages. After winning their first three group matches, they went on to lose their matches against Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, which resulted in their failure to qualify for the next stage.
Avi Barot would be one of the must-watch players in this tournament. In the T20 tournament, he made a lot of headlines after he smashed 122 runs from just 53 balls opening the innings for his side. He also scored 93 runs in another match against Vidarbha, a knock that took only 44 balls.
The Squad:
Jaydev Unadkat (captain), Avi Barot, Chirag Jani, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Harvik Desai, Arpit Vasavada, Kamlesh Makwana, Vishwarajsinh Jadeja, Chetan Sakariya, Prerak Mankad, Divyarajsinh Chauhan, Jay Chauhan, Parth Bhut, Agnivesh Ayachi, Snell Patel, Kishan Parmar, Himalay Barad, Kushang Patel, Parth Chauhan, Devang Karamta.
Head Coach: Sitanshu Kotak.
