IPL 2018, Money Spinners: Jaydev Unadkat Looks To Build On Success From Last Season

Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat might not have been that impressive in the recently-included Nidahas Trophy but the lanky bowler was certainly the cynosure of all eyes in the Indian Premier League Auction 2018. The Saurashtra bowler became the most expensive Indian purchase after he attracted a bid of Rs 11.50 crore from the Rajasthan Royals. Unadkat beat KL Rahul and Manish Pandey, who bagged Rs. 11 crore contracts each on the opening day of the IPL auction.

Unadkat is the second most expensive buy this year after England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who was also bought by Rajasthan for Rs 12.50 crore. While it appeared to be a battle between KXIP and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for Unadkat, Rajasthan made a quiet entry towards the end to win the bid for him.

Unadkat led India's pace attack in the Nidahas Trophy and took seven wickets in the four matches with an economy of 9.92. He made his T20 debut against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2016 and was out of reckoning

for over a year before he made a comeback in the home series against Sri Lanka in December.

Though the seamer is not currently favoured in the 50-over format, he is looking ahead to the World T20 and the World Cup in England next year.

"I will definitely think that this is a build up for the big tournaments coming up, not just the World T20, but the limited-overs World Cup as well. As I said, it is about pushing for place in the team, being able to execute skills in the middle now that I have the confidence of the (team) management and the skipper," the left-arm pacer had said ahead of Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka.

Unadkat had picked up four wickets in the home series against Sri Lanka. He then went to South Africa for the T20 Internationals and played in Johannesburg and Centurion, grabbing three wickets.

In his international career, He has picked up 14 wickets in 10 matches with an average of 21.50.