Devdutt Padikkal joins Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar as the third player to gain his first call-up to the Indian Test team. After Sarfaraz and Rajat, Padikkal becomes the new player to receive a call-up to the Indian Test team
Devdutt Padikkal’s New Journey
Devdutt Padikkal has received his first Test call-up, ahead of India’s third match against England, which begins on February 15. Padikkal joins the team as a replacement for KL Rahul, who is ruled out of the third Test due to a painful knee.
In a release announcing the squad, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stated that Rahul has “reached 90% match fitness” and would continue his recuperation process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to be entirely match-fit for the fourth and fifth Tests.
Rahul has been in top form across all formats since returning from a lengthy absence a few weeks before the 2023 World Cup. Rahul was India’s leading scorer in the first innings of the first Test against England, which India lost, with 87 runs, followed by 22 in the second. His absence is a blow, but as has often been the case with the Indian team, it also presents an opportunity for a player who has quietly been racking up runs in first-class cricket.
Padikkal’s Successful Career
Devdutt’s heroics in the Indian Premier League (IPL) have made him a household name. The 23-year-old, also has an impressive red-ball cricket background.
In 31 first-class matches, Padikkal has scored 2227 runs at an average of 44.54, with six centuries and 12 half-centuries.
He has been in excellent form this season, amassing 556 runs at an average of 92.66 in four matches. He has also scored three hundreds in six innings, with a three-figure total every time he reaches 50. Padikkal was the player of the match in Karnataka’s fifth round draw with Tamil Nadu in Chennai on Monday, scoring 151 and 36. His highest score this season is 193, which he scored in Karnataka’s first match against Punjab.
He was a part of India. A side that shone against the England Lions in Ahmedabad, scoring 65, 21, and 105. His century in the second unofficial Test was part of a tremendous first-innings batting effort that helped the team win by an innings.
The present run of form follows two very forgettable years for the youngster. Padikkal made his international debut for India in the shortest format after consistently impressive performances for RCB in the 2020 and 2021 IPL seasons, scoring 473 and 411 runs, respectively. However, he did not leave much of an impression in his two matches against Sri Lanka in July 2021, and his career has been anything but smooth sailing since then. Due to an unexpected illness, he missed the entire Vijay Hazare Trophy season in 2022, scoring only 260 runs in five Ranji Trophy matches. He could only score 261 runs in the IPL 2023. A thumb injury prevented him from competing in the Maharaja KSCA T20 Trophy.
Padikkal appears to have put such issues behind him, judging by his performances in the current red-ball season.
Can a Test debut happen in Rajkot?
Devdutt is familiar with the Indian senior set-up. In addition to playing two T20Is, he trained with the main Test team in South Africa while touring the country with the India A squad during the two-Test series.
Padikkal began his career as an opener but has moved on to become Karnataka’s No. 3 and No. 4 batter. India has ruled out Shreyas Iyer, who batted at No. 5, for the rest of the series, as Rahul, who batted at No. 4. Virat Kohli is also confirmed to be unavailable for selection, while it is unclear whether Ravindra Jadeja would be healthy in time for the third. This means that India may need to fill at least two middle-order positions in Rajkot. Rajat Patidar made his debut in the second Test, but Sarfaraz Khan remained on the sidelines. There is a likelihood that Sarfaraz and Padikkal will make their Test debuts in Rajkot.
