Ranji Trophy-winning team captain, Jaydev Unadkal has revealed the reason for England star cricketer Ben Stokes calling him ‘Mango Man’.
In the IPL, both Unadkat and Stokes shared the same dressing room during their stay at Rising Pune Supergiants and now Rajasthan Royals.
Amid Coronavirus lockdown, the Rajasthan Royals camp has been active on social media in conducting podcasts with Jos Buttler, Ish Sodhi and now Unadkat.
The lanky left-armer was instrumental in Saurashtra’s maiden Ranji Trophy win in the season of 2019-20.
“When I brought mangoes for him he was the happiest and called me Mango Man of the group,” Unadkat commented on Instagram Live via Twitter handle of Rajasthan Royals.
“I have memories of him smashing his bats and helmets, he is dangerous after getting out. But he is a great guy, he is a champion,” said Unadkat, who was retained by the Royals at an amount of INR 3 crores in the 2020 auction.
In Ranji Trophy, the 28-year-old toppled all domestic records by clinching 67 wickets in a single season by a pacer, surpassing Dooda Ganesh’s 62 wickets in 1998-99 season.
“That was special, one of the best moments in my career and the biggest trophy that I have won,” said the Porbandar-born, who produced match-winning spell even in the finals of the tournament.
“Ranji is always tough. So many matches…so we need to be fit throughout the season. Winning the semifinal and final under pressure was an amazing feeling. Holding the trophy was also an amazing feeling. I can’t forget that moment. I hope we can lift the IPL trophy as well,” Unadkat continued.
However, Unadkat has not been able to translate his domestic success at the international level consistently. He has featured in a solitary Test match in South Africa in 2010, along with seven ODIs and ten T20Is thus far.
In the 89 first-class games, Unadkat picked up 327 scalps, at an impressive average of 23.21. Also, in the recently concluded season, he clinched three consecutive six-wicket hauls in the games against Baroda and Tamil Nadu.
