Devdutt Padikkal is a long-term prospect in Test cricket, according to former India player Aakash Chopra. He did point out that the true test for the left-handed batsman will be India's next two-Test trip to New Zealand and the ensuing five-match series at home against Australia.
In India's 165-run victory over Sri Lanka in the just-finished first Test at Galle, Padikkal was named Player of the Match. In the first innings, he scored 167 runs, and in the second innings, he scored 44 runs.
"It's not horses for courses. A place had opened up, and he got a chance. He is a proper, proper player. He plays very well technically and has come here after going through the rigors of first-class cricket. It's not like you have fast-tracked him. We had definitely fast-tracked Sai Sudharsan a little because it seemed like he was just the right guy for Test cricket," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
"Padikkal's playing style is also like that, and he is backing it up with a lot of runs. So this is not a short-term selection. In my opinion, Devdutt Padikkal could be here for a very, very long time. He will remain in the team if the next match goes well. The real test will be the two Tests in New Zealand, and then the five against Australia at home," he added.
Padikkal got to bat at no.3 only because Sai Sudharsan missed the Sri Lanka tour due to a toe injury. It remains to be seen if the Karnataka batter continues to bat at that position once Sudharsan is back in the mix.
Aakash Chopra also spoke about KL Rahul being the Test vice-captain and acknowledged that Rahul cannot be Shubman Gill's successor as captain.
"I am with you on this one. I have never thought from that perspective. You think about a vice-captain from what perspective? That he is next in line, that if the captain goes, the second one will come, but the second should either be of the same age or younger.
If you are making a vice-captain who is eight years older than the captain, as good as KL Rahul is, he is a good captaincy candidate; he has got a good cricketing brain, but he is not getting younger. If he is doing the vice-captaincy for a 26-year-old captain, he is not the next in line," Chopra said.
Chopra said that Pant was supposed to be next in line when he was made the Test vice-captain. For Rahul, Chopra said that the Karnataka batter is vice-captain only for the current WTC cycle and hopes that Yashasvi Jaiswal becomes the next Test deputy to Shubman Gill.
