Published: September 10, 2026 at 12:16 pm
Devdutt Padikkal had a smashing tour of Sri Lanka, scoring a century in each of the two Tests, and with a blockbuster Test season ahead featuring the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home, the left-hander is keen to cement his position at number three.
Speaking to JioStar, Padikkal shared his thoughts on grabbing his opportunity with both hands, his conversations with Rahul Dravid about red-ball preparation, and whether he feels he has sealed his place in the side.
Padikkal opened up about his Test comeback and grabbing the opportunity with both hands. He said: “Definitely, I was looking forward to it. Obviously, those opportunities don’t come very easily. It takes a lot of hard work to make sure that you are continuing to improve yourself and waiting for that opportunity. I had to make sure that I was ready whenever I got it. The fact that I was told at the start of the series that I was going to be playing was really exciting, and I felt like, personally, I was at the best stage of my career in terms of the way I was batting, so I was really looking forward to it.”
You get limited opportunities these days, and it’s not very easy to cement a place in a side, says Devdutt Padikkal
On batting at number three and following in the shoes of the likes of Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara, he said: “At the end of the day, it’s about going out there and batting. It doesn’t matter what position I’m batting at, I’m trying to contribute to the side. Yes, obviously, there have been great players who have played at number three for India over the years, and I’m sure there’ll be a lot more scrutiny on me and a lot more comparisons made. But at the end of the day, I’m going out there and just playing my cricket, and as long as I’m enjoying that, I think everything will fall into place.”
https://youtu.be/VwZWDrzKVBM?si=uQTkghqW5q2WpbDE
On conversations with Rahul Dravid about Test batting, Paddikal said: “Obviously, I’ve had a lot of conversations with him over the years in terms of batting and what it takes to really spend long hours out there. Again, it comes back to preparation and understanding what you want to do. As long as you have that clarity in your head about what your plans are and what you want to go out there and do, regardless of the position you’re batting at, it helps a lot. I think those are the conversations I’ve had with him.”
On cementing his place in the Test side ahead of a bumper home Test season, he stated: “As long as I’m scoring runs, I think it always benefits the side. Test cricket is not the easiest format, as we all know, so you have to keep performing day in and day out. You get limited opportunities these days, and it’s not very easy to cement a place in a side. Nothing is taken for granted. For me, personally, I just want to keep scoring runs and keep contributing to wins for the Indian Test side. As long as I’m doing that, I’m sure I’ll have my place.”
Devdutt and Ruturaj to lead India A teams against Australia
The BCCI’s men’s selection committee has selected the India A squad for the upcoming home series against Australia A, comprising two multi-day matches and three one-day games in Puducherry.
Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the India A side in the three one-day games against Australia
Devdutt Padikkal will lead the team in the multi-day matches, while Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the captain for the one-day games.
V Vyshak and Hardik Pandya have been named in the squads but their availability will depend on them clearing the fitness tests.
India A Multi-day squad: Aman Mokhade, Ayush Pandey, Devdutt Padikkal (captain), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Yash Rathod, Shaik Rasheed, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Anshul Kamboj, Praful Hinge, N Jagadeesan (WK), Nachiket Bhute, V Vyshak.
India A One-Day squad: Priyansh Arya, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal (VC), Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Rajat Patidar, Kumar Kushagra (WK), Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Arshin Kulkarni, Arshad Khan, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Gurjapneet Singh, Yash Thakur.
