Devdutt Padikkal has become the latest India Test cricketer after receiving his cap from offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday morning ahead of the fifth and final game of the ongoing five-match series against England in Dharamsala.
Padikkal was given a maiden Test call-up ahead of the third Test that was held in Rajkot after KL Rahul was ruled out due to a knee issue.
Incidentally, Padikkal made his debut in Dharamsala after Rajat Patidar, who made his Test debut in the 2nd Test, pulled up sore on the morning of the fifth Test after being hit on his left ankle during practice on Wednesday.
Patidar wasn’t available for selection and hence Padikkal made his way into the playing XI with India leading 3-1 in the five-match series.
The 23-year-old Padikkal represents Karnataka in domestic cricket and has so far played in 31 First-class matches and scored 2227 runs in them at an average of 44.54. He has six centuries and 12 half-centuries to his name.
Claim to Fame
Padikkal first came into the limelight through IPL. He had two successful seasons for Royal Challengers Bangalore, hitting 473 runs in IPL 2020 and 411 runs in the following year.
Having made quite an impression in the IPL, Padikkal was handed his India T20I debut during the Sri Lanka tour of 2021. He played in two matches but managed just 38 runs across two innings.
His progress was then hit by injuries and a dip in form but in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024, he was in stunning form.
In four matches, Padikkal struck 556 runs at an average of 92.66 including three hundreds and an individual best of 193.
He also represented India A in two unofficial Tests against the visiting England Lions. He scored 105 in Ahmedabad as India A recorded an innings win and followed with scores of 65 and 21 in the 3rd game.
After the conclusion of the unofficial Tests, he returned to represent Karnataka in Ranji Trophy and struck 151 in their first innings against Tamil Nadu and 36 in the second dig before being called-up in the India squad.
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