Jaydev Unadkat Shares How Cheteshwar Pujara’s Call Changed His Career

Indian cricket fans went through a lot of heartbreak in the past few months, where they experienced the Test retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, whereas on August 24, Sunday, the backbone of No. 3 in the Indian Test team, Cheteshwar Pujara, announced his retirement from all formats of cricket. The 37-year-old has played 103 tests, scoring 7,195 runs at an average of 43.60, smashing 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries in his 15 years of cricket career. Till now Pujara has taken the Indian test team to new heights with his incredible performances, which include classic victories.

After Pujara's sudden retirement, Indian pacer Jaydev Unadkat told an interesting story about how the former cricketer became the reason for his entry into the Indian Premier League (IPL).

On X (formerly known as Twitter), Unadkat stated how one day he got a text from the former batter in 2010 and how it changed his life and career.

He wrote,

"Hi Jaydev, this is Cheteshwar. I have had a word with Dada, and you have to go for the KKR trials. You are bowling very well, so keep it up. This was our first conversation on the phone after one of our Ranji Trophy nets, where I was still a net bowler, back in 2010. Little did I know back then that we would become best mates and share some of our finest memories, and not just on the field."

Further, he wrote,

"Your grit and determination for the game is something that everyone talks about and will talk about for generations to come. And deservedly so. But there was that other side of you, the funnier/naughtier/louder side, where we fought for every FIFA battle and took the longest to play every hand at the card game and argued on absolutely silly topics. Today, when you are putting an end to your illustrious career, I am super proud, although a bit emotional. I am super proud to call you my senior first, my colleague second, and my brother to round it all off."

Talking about Unadkat's career, he made his debut under Sourav Ganguly for Kolkata Knight Riders. He has played a total of 112 matches so far, taking away 110 wickets in IPL.