India will host West Indies and South Africa in four Test matches this season.
Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal is aiming for strong performances in the upcoming A series against Australia to secure a spot in the Indian team for home Tests.
India will kick off their 2025 home season with a two-match Test series against the West Indies in October before taking on South Africa in a couple of Test matches in November.
Padikkal made his Test debut against England in March 2024 and then played another one against Australia at Perth last November. He began the year with a hundred and an 86 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which was crucial in Karnataka winning the title.
The southpaw also had a good IPL season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. His campaign came to an early end as he sustained a hamstring injury just before the war break and was replaced by Mayank Agarwal.
“You know, every game that you play, especially for India, is very important. We have a few home Test series coming up. I am looking forward to making a mark in the A series to hopefully stake a claim for that team as well," Padikkal said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.
“But at the same time, you have to just go out there and bat. I really enjoyed batting here (Duleep Trophy) in red-ball cricket. And just more opportunities to play red-ball cricket are always welcome," he added.
Having recovered from the hamstring injury, it was just this week that the left-hander returned to top-level domestic cricket and he did so with a 57-run knock for South Zone against the North Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinal.
“It [this tournament] was very important. I have not played much red-ball cricket for some time now. So coming into this game, I knew that I needed to make sure that I was getting back into the groove of things," Padikkal remarked.