IPL 2020: Rajasthan Royals star Jaydev Unadkat slams 'harsh' social media trolls

Saurashtra cricketer Jaydev Unadkat was retained by Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 auction. For the third time in a row, the Royals have snapped up the left-arm pacer after some fierce bidding. Jaydev Unadkat was snapped up for ₹3 crore by the 2008 IPL champions.

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Jaydev Unadkat rose to prominence after a stellar IPL 2017 with the Rising Pune Supergiant, picking up 24 wickets in just 12 games, as RPS reached the IPL final, only to agonisingly lose to the Mumbai Indians. Unadkat was bought by the Rajasthan Royals for a whopping ₹11 crore in IPL 2018 auction. Unadkat failed to match his lofty standards, playing all 14 games but picked up only 11 wickets at a poor economy rate of 9.65.

Despite failing, the Royals had immense belief in Jaydev Unadkat as he was the most expensive purchase in the IPL 2019 auction. Unadkat was signed up by the Rajasthan Royals once again for ₹8.4 crore. The move did not pay many dividends, as the Saurashtra fast bowler struggled to perform. Unadkat picked up 10 wickets in 11 matches at a dismal economy of 10.66.

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His price tag and then his performances have not quite justified the money shelled out on him, which has made the bowler a butt of jokes on social media. 

I have learned to ignore the trolls: Jaydev Unadkat

While speaking to a leading Indian media portal, Jaydev Unadkat said that at some point, he feels that people become so 'harsh' that they don’t realise they are humans as well. He added that he cannot really go to every individual and see what their mindset is. Unadkat opined that people troll him for fun or just to get attention.

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Jaydev Unadkat said that people have told him to not bother about that and that social media is something he shouldn’t really look at. He added people haven't said anything on his face as they could only do it on social media which shows that those things don’t really matter as much as you think they do at.

Jaydev Unadkat said that they play this beautiful game for fans, for people to follow it and love it. But in India, it happens that a minority of fans do it out of hatred or jealousy. He added that critics help you at times by telling you things that you don’t see in your game but people who just abuse you all the time don’t really matter. He also said that at the start, it was difficult for him to ignore the trollers but now he has learnt the art to ignore such voices.

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IMAGE COURTESY: JAYDEV UNADKAT INSTAGRAM