In the Indian Test squad for the next Test series against Bangladesh, which begins on December 14 in Chattogram, senior right-arm pacer Mohammed Shami is expected to be replaced by left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat due to injury.

Unadkat is reportedly waiting to finish his visa requirements in Rajkot, according to a report in ESPNCricinfo. He is anticipated to join the Test team in Chattogram over the following several days, it was noted.

Shami had already been ruled out of India’s ODI series against Bangladesh owing to a shoulder ailment he had suffered in a pre-trip training session. He is presently receiving therapy at Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy (NCA).

After Shami missed the ODI portion of the tour of Bangladesh, there was a remote possibility that he might be healthy for the two Test matches against Bangladesh, but that possibility has already been eliminated.

Unadkat, 31, is being called up to the Indian Test squad for just the second time in his playing career. His lone Test performance to date was in Centurion during the opening match of South Africa’s 2010–2011 tour, almost 12 years ago.

As a young man who had just left the India Under-19 team and participated in the U19 World Cup in New Zealand, he was granted his Test debut. He finished that Test match with zero wickets for 101 runs as India fell short by an inning and 25 runs.

Unadkat’s first-class cricket resume improved while he was still playing domestic cricket, and during the past five years, he has emerged as the captain of Saurashtra and the head of their bowling attack.

He played a key role in Saurashtra’s first Ranji Trophy title win in 2019–20, raking up a season-high 67 wickets, which was the most for a bowler. Unadkat has 115 wickets during the last three Ranji Trophy seasons in 21 games.

He recently led Saurashtra to victory by taking the most wickets in the 2022–23 Vijay Hazare Trophy with 19 in ten games. Unadkat has only played in one Test match, but he has also participated in seven One-Day Internationals and 10 Twenty20 Internationals for India. He last played for his country when it won the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka in March 2018.

Abhimanyu Easwaran of Bengal has also been called up by India, as captain Rohit Sharma rushed home to Mumbai to recover from a left thumb injury he sustained during the second ODI against Bangladesh. In a recent four-day series, Easwaran led India A to a 1-0 victory over Bangladesh A.

Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar is reportedly set to replace injured all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the Test squad after picking 15 wickets across two red-ball matches in the India A trip to Bangladesh.