Follow UsDevdutt Padikkal made his T20I debut in July 2021 but soon fell off the radar, not only because of his inconsistent performances, but largely due to a Covid-19 infection and a stomach-related health complication. The illness affected his health and the young batter couldn’t play much cricket for 12-15 months.
The left-handed batter didn’t have a great Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but turned his form around in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, amassing 465 runs across five innings at an average of 155 and a strike rate of 120.5. Padikkal managed to carry forward his form to red-ball cricket and slammed 556 runs in four Ranji Trophy games for Karnataka.
The 23-year-old hit three tons - 193 vs Punjab, 103 vs Goa and 151 vs Tamil Nadu. If that wasn’t enough, the young batter also managed scores of 105, 65 and 21 against England Lions, playing for India A. His form didn’t go unnoticed and Padikkal was called up to the India squad ahead of the third Test in Rajkot.
Padikkal didn’t get to feature in the third and fourth Test but a late injury to Rajat Patidar helped him get his maiden Test cap in Dharamsala. Batting at No. 4, Padikkal scored 65 off 103 and very much looked at ease before getting knocked over by Shoaib Bashir.
“Regardless of when you get to know (you are going to make your Test debut), there’s always going to be thoughts in your head, there’s always going to be nervousness around. That was still there. I got a message the previous night saying there’s a possibility that I could be playing. I was nervous from that time and had a tough night's sleep. But that is something you also enjoy,” said Padikkal, who hit 10 fours and a six during his stay in the middle.
Talking about his recent form in red-ball cricket, the left-hander said: “Obviously, runs give you confidence and it’s not anything different for me. I wasn’t doing well in first-class cricket for the first couple of years but you keep working hard, trying to improve your game and make those small adjustments. I am still young, I am still learning.
“Technically, there were a couple of small things. Nothing too major. Most of it was mentally… I just wanted to make sure I enjoyed the game more because the last two years, not being able to play often, and missing out on a lot of games made me realise how much I missed the sport. How much I wanted to be in action, playing cricket.
“I have always believed in discipline being the key to success. It could be practice, your habits, your food, or whatever you do every single day. I have always tried to be disciplined. That’s always been my main goal.”
Padikkal walked out to bat with India already in control. After Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma put on 104 runs for the opening wicket, Shubman Gill also toyed with England’s bowling attack. The latter scored 110 off 150, while skipper Rohit smashed 103. India, however, lost both of them in quick succession but Padikkal and Sarfaraz Khan (56) added 97 runs to deny England any chance of making a comeback.
“It’s always fun to bat with Sarfaraz. He is a great character to have around. It was just some light stuff, nothing serious. We weren’t really discussing about the game a lot. We just wanted to make sure we made each other comfortable. And we enjoyed batting against each other,” said Padikkal.
The hosts have already taken a lead off 255 runs and still have two wickets in hand, with Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah having put on 45* runs for the ninth wicket. “We are not looking so far ahead. We still have two wickets in hand and they have already put on a good partnership. Hopefully, they can continue to bat and keep getting those runs tomorrow and get that lead bigger.”