Devdutt Padikkal in Indian squad for Rajkot Test against England, replacing KL Rahul
After some fantastic performances for Karnataka in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, Lucknow Super Giants’ new signing Devdutt Padikkal now has a chance to earn his first ever Test cap, having been selected in the India squad for the Rajkot Test against England starting on Thursday.
The 23-year-old southpaw, who became a member of the Lucknow Super Giants family last year, has been an indispensable part of the Karnataka batting line-up in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 556 runs at an average of over 90 in six innings. His three centuries included a 193 in Karnataka’s opening match against Punjab and a 151 against Tamil Nadu recently.
While Padikkal will surely be missed by Karnataka, he now has a bigger role to play for the national team, especially with our skipper KL Rahul missing out due to injury, and the series in balance at 1-1.
Padikkal was part of the India A team that faced the England Lions in the unofficial Test matches in Ahmedabad ahead of the Test series, and impressed the Indian selectors with a century in the first game, as well as a half-century in the following match. He also travelled with India A to South Africa in December and trained alongside the Indian Test team there.
‘DDP’ has played 31 first-class matches overall, averaging 44.54. His only experience with the national side was when he played two T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka in July 2021.
If Padikkal debuts against England on Thursday, it will be the culmination of an incredible run of form over the past 6 months in domestic cricket, in all forms of the game. Here’s wishing him and the national team all the best for the upcoming Tests!
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