Jaydev Unadkat has spent most of his career proving people wrong. Just days after being retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, the left-arm seamer produced another reminder of his value in Indian domestic cricket. On Sunday, November 30, he became the leading wicket-taker in the history of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), overtaking Siddharth Kaul.
Unadkat achieved the milestone in Saurashtra’s clash against Delhi in Ahmedabad, when he dismissed Delhi captain Nitish Rana for 76. That wicket took him to 121 SMAT wickets from 83 matches, going past Kaul’s tally of 120 dismissals. The achievement came at his home ground (Narendra Modi Stadium), where he has been central he has been to Saurashtra’s golden domestic era.
Most wickets in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
| Player | Wickets |
|---|---|
| Jaydev Unadkat | 121 |
| Siddharth Kaul | 120 |
| Piyush Chawla | 113 |
| Lukman Meriwala | 108 |
| Chama Milind | 107 |
While Kaul finished with 120 wickets in 87 innings at an average of 18.25, Unadkat now sits at the top with 121 wickets at an economy of just 6.79, proving how effective he has been in controlling games along with striking regularly. Among the top five bowlers in the tournament’s history, only Hyderabad’s Chama Milind is still active alongside him.
In Sunday’s match, Delhi posted 207/4 riding on Nitish Rana’s 76 and Yash Dhull’s 47, before defending the total with ease. Saurashtra were restricted to 197/6, with Suyash Sharma delivering excellent figures of 3/20.
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