Devdutt Padikkal impressed one and all with his batting exploits on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test against England in Dharamsala .
Playing his debut Test, the southpaw scored 65 off 103 balls with 10 boundaries and 1 six. He was involved in a 97-run stand for the fourth wicket with another newcomer Sarfaraz Khan.
After the day’s play, Padikkal opened up on his struggles with health issues over the past two years, arising from contracting COVID-19 and suffering from a stomach illness.
The 23-year-old also highlighted how the lean patch that was the result of his health complications boosted his appetite for runs.
“I have always believed that discipline is key to success in anything that you do. Whether your practice or day-to-day habits or food. I have tried to be disciplined and that was my main goal.
“During sickness, I couldn’t do much but I still wanted to make sure I am not lagging behind in other areas and I continued to work on myself whether mentally or any other small thing,” Padikkal said after the close of play.
Devdutt Padikkal made his T20I debut in July 2021 and played two matches for India against Sri Lanka. He managed to score 38 runs in those two T20Is and fell off the radar due to inconsistent performances.
Padikkal’s IPL performances were also impacted by his bad health. He failed to make a mark as a middle-order batter while playing for the Rajasthan Royals in 2022 and 2023.
Padikkal's struggle with illness was reflected in his Ranji Trophy performances as well. He managed to score only 260 runs across seven innings in the 2022-23 season. This was a stark contrast to his previous seasons, where he had given a glimpse of his exceptional potential.
After overcoming sickness, the left-hander went on to pile a mountain of runs in domestic cricket and was the highest run-scorer for Karnataka in the latest Ranji Trophy with 556 runs. Playing for India ‘A’, he also slammed a century (105) against the England Lions in a four-day match in January, which ultimately paved his way to the Indian Test squad.
The love for the game got stronger when he regained full fitness and Padikkal has also made technical changes of late.
“Technically I made a couple of small changes but mentally yes, I made the changes. I wanted to ensure that I enjoy the game a lot more because the last couple of years I couldn’t play that often and missing on games made me realise how much I missed the sport.”
Padikkal made his Test debut in Dharamsala as Rajat Patidar suffered an ankle injury on the eve of the game.
“Regardless of when you get to know, there is always going to be nervousness around. That was still there. I got a message saying the previous night saying that I could be playing.
“I was nervous, it was a tough night’s sleep but it is something you also enjoy at the same time. You live for those days,” said Padikkal.
When asked to pick favourite boundaries among his 10, the youngster replied: “Every boundary is enjoyable but the first boundary, off the edge, was most enjoyable because those were my first runs in Test cricket (laughs).”
He also enjoyed batting with Sarfaraz Khan, who also scored a sparkling half-century on Day 2.
“It’s always fun to bat with Sarfaraz Khan. He is a great character to have around. It was just some light stuff and nothing too serious. We weren’t really discussing the game a lot, we just wanted to make sure we make each other comfortable at the ground.”
Riding on centuries from Shubman Gill (110) and Rohit Sharma’s (103), India ended the second day on 473/8, leading England by 255 runs in the first innings. At stumps, Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah were unbeaten in the middle on 27 and 19 respectively.
“We haven’t discussed and aren’t looking so far ahead. We still have two wickets in hand, there is a good partnership going on. So hopefully we can continue to bat and keep getting those runs and lead bigger,” Padikkal stated.
(With PTI Inputs)
