Devdutt Padikkal has thrown his hat in the ring for a possible Test selection after a 150-run knock in India A vs Australia A game.
The retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have left a hole in the Indian Test batting unit. While Shubman Gill took to the leadership role like a duck to water, there is still room for improvement. The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy saw Team India punch above their weight with KL Rahul, Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar all firing with the bat. However, the number three and six spots are still up for grabs and now Devdutt Padikkal has put a challenge to the selectors.
Sudharsan’s failure to seize Test spot
India tried Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair for the roles. While Sudharsan played three Tests at number three, Nair got an opportunity twice. But neither of them seized the opportunity. Yes, Sudharsan made a fifty and Nair came up with a great knock on a testing wicket at number six, but the sheer volume of runs wasn’t there.
Now, matches like the Duleep Trophy and the India A vs Australia A series have given players a chance to showcase themselves and knock on selection doors. While Rajat Patidar has made his claim, Devdutt Padikkal took his opportunity and starred for India A in Lucknow.
Devdutt Padikkal makes a case
In the first unofficial Test against a strong Australia A side, Padikkal hammered 150, a knock that saw him toil for as many as 281 runs. Sudharsan, in the same match, failed to convert a strong start. The Tamil Nadu batter made 73 with the help of 10 boundaries. However, he couldn’t do much on a wicket that has seen over 1,000 runs getting scored across 239 overs.
Padikkal, however, batted at number four and continued to pile misery on the Aussie unit. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter also saw a tricky situation in the middle when India A lost four wickets, including that of skipper Shreyas Iyer and the trail was still 310. But Padikkal, joined forces with Dhruv Jurel, stitched up a match-changing partnership of 228 runs and brought life into the game.
It was a calm innings by Padikkal, who made 84 runs with running alone. His only six came against Cooper Connolly, who leaked 33 runs off 35 balls against him. What is fascinating about Padikkal’s 150 is that he didn’t prioritise an area on the field. Instead, his runs were shared equally across both sides, with him hammering 75 runs on the off side and the rest on the on side.
Padikkal needs Test redemption?
Devdutt Padikkal’s 150 has come in a timely manner, considering the India’s Test squad for the West Indies series could be announced next week. Earlier this month, the southpaw scored a fifty in the Duleep Trophy semi-final as well. For those unaware, Padikkal has already represented Team India in red-ball cricket, having played two Tests. He made a 65 on his debut against England.
However, things took a wild turn as he never got selected again before playing the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in November last year. It was a forgettable match for Padikkal, who recorded a duck in the first innings and scored just 25 in the second.
But now, he has done well to be noticed by the selectors. Although the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee would back Sudharsan again and see how he goes in the home season, having Padikkal in the squad won’t be surprising either.
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