Jaydev Unadkat turns emotional, sums up 12 years of India wait with the perfect 'Then and Now' tweet

Jaydev Unadkat, in an emotional message, posted an epic ‘Then and Now’ tweet, celebrating his return to Test cricket.

India’s second Test against Bangladesh was special was special for a lot of players. Shreyas Iyer scored a crucial 29 during his batting first time in the second innings of a Test, while R Ashwin showed the stomach for a fight with a 42-run knock as both led India to a famous three-wicket win in Mirpur to wrap up the series 2-0. Umesh Yadav picked up four wickets in the first innings and Mehidy Hasan claimed a five-for in India’s second of the match. But all of that pales in comparison to what the Mirpur Test meant for one man in particular, Jaydev Unadkat.

India's Jaydev Unadkat bowls during the Dhaka Test (AP)

Unadkat, the left left-arm quick, playing his first Test for India after 12 years, picked up three wickets in the match. Even though it may not go down as one of the most standout performances in the history of Indian cricket, this was more than just wickets for Unadkat. Having made his Test debut back in 2010, Unadkat had to wait over a decade to play his first match. After paying his dividends in the domestic circuit for years, dishing out impressive seasons after seasons, Unadkat finally enjoyed his moment under the sun when he was first drafted into the Test squad and then given a game in the series-decider.

Unadkat, in an emotional message, posted an epic ‘Then and Now’ tweet, celebrating his return to Test cricket. Unadkat posted pictures of his Team India jerseys from the first and second Test – 12 years apart – with autographs of all 22 cricketers. From MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan to Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel – the jerseys had signatures of all. "To the journey of all those years in between... #267 #TeamIndia," he tweeted.

"The excitement now is more than what it was back then. I felt I was ready for this. I felt I have done all that it takes to be here so that confidence was there in the back. That's what I was that much more excited to get this opportunity. Really grateful that I got this chance. I have been waiting for this since the longest and it couldn't have come at a better time. The belief, the blessings... everything worked out," Unadkat had said.

Unadkat made his return to Team India special by picking up his first international wicket. Unadkat produced a beauty of a delivery, that took off, jagged back in and caught Zakir Hasan on the glove. The ball lobbed in the air for KL Rahul to complete a catch. It was a moment Unadkat had dreamt of since 2010, and although it ended up being a long wait, the left-armer was confident all through that come what may, he will eventually get there.

"I went blank to be honest when I took that wicket. I had visualised this moment 1000 times in between. I didn't get a wicket back then so there was a talk everytime. People talked about me getting an opportunity again to play for the Indian team but for me personally, I always believed I will do it so I used to visualise it forever. I was just thankful to everything that clicked for me during this journey," he said.