Sri Lanka vs India: Jaydev Unadkat Eager To Prove Himself In Nidahas Trophy

Left-arm bowler Jaydev Unadkat is excited to capitalize on his rare opportunity in the Nidahas Trophy as India get set to take on hosts Sri Lanka on Monday for the second time.

With India resting the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya for the event, Unadkat has been given the chance to lead the Men in Blue's bowling attack.

However, he has not matched expectations so far giving up 1-35 from three overs in his nation's loss to Sri Lanka and 3-38 in India's win over Bangladesh last week.

The 26-year-old though, is ready to prove himself at this level and is confident of further improving his game, having only made his Twenty20 debut back in June of 2016.

"It's exciting to think about the times coming up," Unadkat said, as per the Deccan Herald. "I was waiting for this opportunity since the time I started playing cricket, and now that I have got it, I have got chances to prove myself at this level, it is up to me how I take it forward."

"Whatever opportunities I have got, I have tried to do as well as I can. There's always room for improvement. The next few months will be about how I improve my game now that I have got the confidence from the team."

The Porbandar native has notably featured in just one Test match for India back in 2010 but since then, has established himself as a solid T20 bowler, having recently become the most expensive Indian cricketer in the Indian Premier League after he was bought for $1.8m by the Rajasthan Royals in February.

Speaking about his bowling, Unadkat touched upon how variations are a crucial aspect in cricket in order to keep batsmen guessing.

"Variations are the most important part of the game," Unadkat added. "To play with a batsman's mind, you need variations. When the batsman is expecting something and you do it differently, you are successful as a bowler."

"The wicket looks very good for batting from ball one. I haven't played here before in limited-overs cricket. The ball is coming on nicely, there's good bounce and that gives batsmen the freedom to go all out from ball one. Variation is not just about bowling different balls, it is important to vary the lengths, not allowing them to premeditate a shot."

India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh all currently have a total of one win and one loss in the Nidahas Trophy so far with the top two sides advancing to the final.

India will play Bangladesh next after Sri Lanka on Wednesday while the hosts take on The Tigers in the final T20 match on Friday before the final which is to take place on Sunday.