IND v AUS: Unadkat released from 2nd Test squad, to play Ranji Trophy final

Left-arm paceman Jaydev Unadkat has been dropped from India's squad for the 2nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCCI) announced on Sunday, February 12. Unadkat will join the Saurashtra squad for the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Notably, Saurashtra qualified for the Ranji Trophy final for the third time in the last 4 years. Saurashtra, led by stand-in captain Arpit Vasavada, beat Karnataka by 4 wickets in the semi-final at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday. On the other hand, Bengal beat defending champions Madhya Pradesh by a mammoth margin to book their place in the title match.

Jaydev Unadkat made his Test comeback during India's tour of Bangladesh last year and was picked in the squad for the first 2 Tests against Australia. BCCI has not named any replacement for Unadkat in the team. India have pace attacks like Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav in their 16-man squad for the 2nd Test.

India took a 1-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after beating Pat Cummins-led Australia by an innings and 132 runs. The Pacers picked up just 4 of the 20 wickets that fell in the first Test as twins R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja picked 15 between them to fire the Australian batting in Nagpur. India played Shami and Siraj ahead of Umesh and Unadkat in the first Test and played Axar Patel as the third spinner in a 5-man bowling attack.