“There was spark, excitement” – Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat floored by rousing welcome at Rajkot airport after Ranji Trophy victory

Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat was floored by a rousing welcome at Rajkot airport following their Ranji Trophy 2022-23 victory on Monday, February 20.

Saurashtra lifted their second Ranji Trophy title after beating Manoj Tiwary-led Bengal by nine wickets in the summit clash at Eden Gardens on Sunday, February 19.

Fans gathered in huge numbers to welcome their favorite stars, which took Unadkar by surprise. Taking to Twitter, Unadkat wrote:

“Incredible scenes at the Rajkot airport today when we landed. This is something I have never witnessed before. There was spark. There was excitement. There was a sense of the bright future of cricket in Saurashtra! Well done guys! Let’s keep the fire burning.”

Reacting to the video, Indian cricketer Suryakumar Yadav wrote:

"Trust me I have never seen so much rush at the RAJKOT airport buddy. You all have earned this love from all the people present. Great sight."

Trust me I have never seen so much rush at the RAJKOT airport buddy. You all have earned this love from all the people present. Great sight ❤️ twitter.com/junadkat/statu…

Unadkat was adjudged Player of the Match for his nine wickets in the contest, which included a five-wicket haul. Meanwhile, Saurashtra batter Arpit Vasavada emerged as the Player of the Series with 907 runs in 10 games, including three centuries.

Jaydev Unadkat retains his place in India's squad for the last two Tests in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Jaydev Unadkat has retained his place in the Team India squad for the last two Tests of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The speedster was released to lead his state Saurashtra ahead of the second Test in Delhi.

India’s squad for 3rd & 4th Test vs Australia

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, S Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, R Jadeja, Mohd Shami, Mohd Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat

Unadkat has also been included in India's squad for the three-match ODI squad against Australia, which will get underway in Mumbai on March 17. The remaining two ODIs will be played in Vizag (March 19) and Chennai (March 22).

The left-arm seamer last played for India in an ODI against West Indies in November 2013.

India’s ODI squad vs Australia

Rohit Sharma (C), S Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), R Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, W Sundar, Y Chahal, Mohd Shami, Mohd Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkat

Following Australia's tour of India, Jaydev Unadkat will join the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) side for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was bought by the franchise for ₹50 lakh at the mini-auction in December last year.