Devdutt Padikkal has really cashed in on his chances in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka that culminated earlier today. In the three innings, the Karnataka batsman came up with scores of 167, 44 and 117 to strengthen his No.3 credentials. But if not for an injury to Sai Sudharsan, India’s No.3 for some time now, Padikkal would not have been given that batting slot but the 26-year-old has now made the most of his lucky stars, and there is a strong possibility that when India next play a Test — against New Zealand in November — we will see him playing at No.3 instead of Sudharsan.
But Padikkal doesn’t want to confine himself to one position. After being chosen the Man-of-the-Series for his 328 runs, the batsman said he is open to playing at any position. “Honestly, I’m just happy to score runs. It doesn’t matter where I do it. It can be at number 3. It can be anywhere else. It doesn’t matter. Honestly, for me it’s important that the team wins, and as long as I’m contributing to those wins, I’m happy,” he said after the draw in Colombo on Thursday.
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Prior to these two Tests, Padikkal last represented India in November 2024 in Australia. He played in the first Test in Perth, which India won, and after Shubman Gill returned to the team to play at No.3, he didn’t feature in the series again. Last year, Sudharsan was chosen to play at that position from the England series onwards. Padikkal was happy to make it back to the team in style. “Again, you always want to play. You want to represent your country. You have to keep working hard. That’s the only thing that’s in your control. The XI is not in your control. You have to keep trying to help your teammates out whenever you get that opportunity. You have to make sure that you’re ready for it, and I’m happy that I was able to do that,” he said.
On his Player-of-the-Series award, Padikkal said: “Yeah, it feels great. Again, it would have been better if we had won this game as well. But at the end of the day, I’m happy that I could contribute.”
Finally, Padikkal was happy with the way the young Indian batting line-up performed in the 1-0 series win. “Lots of work to do. I think, as you can see, it’s a very young side. It’s important that we continue to learn. There’s a lot of evolving left to do in every single one of us, and I think everyone is really hungry and looking forward to doing that, and I’m sure we’ll continue to improve and have some good games ahead,” he said.