Devdutt Padikkal of Karnataka, Sarfaraz Khan of Mumbai, and Ruturaj Gaikwad of Maharashtra hammered centuries in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT 2025-26) tournament. This comes ahead of the three-match ODI series between India and New Zealand that begins on January 11.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has been under increasing strain following these centuries, with reports indicating that injured Shreyas Iyer, India's ODI vice-captain and first-choice number four batter, might not recover in time for the New Zealand ODIs.
Devdutt Padikkal is having an excellent outing in the VHT 2025-26 tournament. He has slammed over 400 runs in four innings, including two centuries, with the best score of 147 that came in Karnataka’s successful chase of a 413-run target against Jharkhand.
His purple patch continued as Karnataka posted 363/4 in 50 overs against Puducherry. The left-hander scored 113 off 116 balls and added 228 for the opening wicket with fellow centurion Mayank Agarwal (132), while Karun Nair added 62* in 34 balls to propel the Karnataka team score.
The knock was Padikkal’s sixth century in his last eight List A innings. Overall, he has amassed 2,364 runs in 36 List A matches at an average of 81.51, with 11 hundreds, yet remains uncapped in ODIs.
Though Padikkal is primarily an opening batter, he has shown the ability to bat in the middle order as well, and selectors can capitalize on his form in the New Zealand ODIs.
On the other hand, Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan has also staked a claim for a middle-order role in India’s ODI squad. He blasted a 57-ball 157 with 9 fours and 14 sixes as Mumbai posted 444/8 against Goa at the Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground in Jaipur.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, who hammered his maiden ODI century in the recent South Africa series, reinforced his case with a composed 124 off 113 balls as Maharashtra posted 331/7 for Maharashtra against Uttarakhand at the Anantam Ground in Jaipur.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has been in good form, and BCCI will have to choose from these three options if Shreyas Iyer fails to regain full fitness for the New Zealand ODI series.
