Ranji Trophy 2024: Target for the team now will be consistency, says Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat

Ahead of Saurashtra’s Ranji Trophy campaign opener, captain Jaydev Unadkat speaks about the preparation and reveals how the team worked on the game’s mental aspects over the last few weeks.

Saurashtra’s captain Jaydev Unadkat celebrates with the trophy after winning the Ranji Trophy 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI

Jaydev Unadkat has been bowling long spells in the nets over the last few weeks to ensure a smooth transition from white ball cricket to red ball. Leading Saurashtra in yet another Ranji Trophy, Unadkat knows that being the defending champion, the expectations will be high from his team.

It hasn’t been a season to remember so far for the team, as it failed to reach the knockout stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy. However, Unadkat says that the team is motivated after the failures in the white-ball tournaments and is leaving no stone unturned to find its mojo.

Ahead of its campaign opener against Jharkhand in Rajkot, Unadkat speaks to  Sportstar about the preparation and reveals how the team worked on the mental aspects of the game over the last few weeks.

Saurashtra won two Ranji Trophy titles in three years. As the captain of the defending champion side, what are the targets set for yourself and the team?

Now that we have won the Ranji Trophy title twice in the last three years, the expectations will be different. We are no more underdogs. So, it’s about consistency now. The overall target for this team now, especially in the red ball season, will be consistency. There will be games where a one-odd session might not go our way, and we might struggle, but we have to be consistent with our performances. In every game we play, someone must stand up for the team. That will be the goal for the season for us, and that’s what we have been talking about.  

Individually, it’s one more red-ball season. Now that I have been back in the Test as well, the goal is to do well in every game, whatever the surface or the pitch we get to play on. It poses a different challenge, but it’s about banking on the experiences and being smart enough to bowl those crucial spells where I can turn around the game. What I did well in the last couple of seasons for Saurashtra and why the team did well was that I could provide crucial breakthroughs when not much was happening. I want to keep doing that and prove to myself that I am still the same bowler I was over the last couple of years.

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In 2023, you guided Saurashtra to another Ranji Trophy title, but a shoulder injury while bowling in the nets for Lucknow Super Giants ruled you out of the IPL. How challenging was it to come back from an injury and make it to India’s Test squad again?

To be honest, it was kind of difficult. It was my bowling shoulder that got injured, and to be playing with a niggle isn’t always ideal, especially when you have made a comeback and all eyes are on you. It wasn’t easy, but I am happy with the way I managed the injury and eventually bounced back to play for the country.

Having said that, I still feel the best is yet to come. Last year, before we won the title for Saurashtra, I bowled a couple of match-winning spells for the team, and I want to be there again. That’s one of the goals. After returning from injury, to play with a niggle is always a challenge, and I think that over the next couple of months, I will be able to prove myself again.

Over the last few years, Saurashtra has emerged as a complete unit with everyone contributing. How did you manage to create that atmosphere in the team and instil the winning mentality among the players?

That mentality has been a process. It hasn’t come in a year or two. We have been able to build that over the last four or five years. There were a few instances in the past where I felt that we weren’t playing to win. We were playing just to be happy with individual performances. This was four or five seasons back, and that was the time when you had to work on those aspects. After mentioning it to the players, everyone started believing that it was not just about individual performances and scoring a 40 or 50 to cement your place in the team. They realised it was more than that and was about contributing to the team’s success and, at times, playing the way the team wanted you to. That mentality has developed after a good two to three years, and it was not just about talking but doing it on the field. I don’t think we need to work a lot on that front because the core of the team is on board in terms of what’s good for the team.

For instance, this year, we did not qualify for the knockout stages of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, so the team’s mindset so far has been that we have been unsuccessful. I didn’t see such a thing four or five seasons before, and back then, people were happy with their performances even if the team did not qualify for the knockouts. So, this change in mindset speaks volumes about the team. People are sad when we haven’t qualified, and they are willing to go that extra mile to achieve success for the team.

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That’s something I am proud of. We have been able to develop a culture where we are hungry to win and are not happy with just participating.

Last season, you and Cheteshwar Pujara were not available for a large part of the season. But this time around, the team will start its campaign with both of you on the side. How much of an advantage will that be for Saurashtra?

We already played a lot of cricket together. Cheteshwar has been in and out of the team, so it’s not that he is playing after a long time. He’s already part of the core group, so yes, Cheteshwar playing will be a huge boost for sure. But as I said, it will be more about the whole core of the team doing well. He has played a lot with this group, and his presence will be a huge thing. A player of his stature always makes a difference and stabilises the batting order, and others can play around him and build those partnerships.

Over the last couple of years, the team has taken mental toughness very seriously. But when a team does not perform to its abilities, how do the players handle that situation? Have you done anything on the mental aspect ahead of the red-ball season?

We have been talking about it. We have been honest in terms of accepting who’s done well and who hasn’t. Now, we have a lot of seniors in the team, so over the last few weeks, we have ensured that everyone is on board in terms of fitness and lasts the whole day on the field. Everyone knows that now if you want to be part of this Saurashtra team, you’ll have to maintain our standards. We have conveyed that to everyone, and that starts with myself. Being the captain, if I can set an example, then everyone can follow. There’s nothing ground-breaking in this because it’s the same group that has been playing for the last few seasons, and the newcomers, too, got used to the team culture and have settled in nicely. We have been talking about where we are lacking in the last couple of tournaments and what we need to work on and be good at. Everyone now understands that it’s their responsibility. It’s not like you can’t say anything to someone who’s played 70 first-class games, for us, it’s about being honest and telling everyone that ‘we know you have played so much, but at this point, you need to work on this particular area - in terms of fitness and skills’.

It’s about pointing out where we are going wrong and helping them get better. It’s a process, and even though most of us have played more than 70-plus first-class games, we can still learn and get better in terms of fitness. I have conveyed that to everyone, and they all are on board. Hopefully, that will reflect in our performances.

Being the pace bowling spearhead of the team, how have you prepared over the last few weeks?

We have had a couple of weeks of training camp with the red ball. It’s always a good thing to have extended sessions when you are transitioning from white ball to cricket. Since we did not qualify for the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts, we had a fair amount of practice.

Personally, it’s about building more endurance. I have been working on that, now that there will be long days on the field. So, it was important to patiently bowl longer spells in the nets and build those muscle endurance. Now that the games are about to begin, it’s all about executing the plans.