Since a lot of Indian players had to go under isolation after Krunal Pandya's COVID-19 diagnosis, Karnataka batsman Devdutt Padikkal got a chance to prove his mettle in international cricket against Sri Lanka in the second T20I.
Even though Padikkal (29 off 23 balls) didn’t get a big score, his batting was a huge plus for the Indian team. Hence, former India batsman Virender Sehwag, impressed with Padikkal's approach, feels he might be an ideal replacement for Shikhar Dhawan in the future.
“I really want to see him perform because the way he played a couple of innings, struck a century in the IPL, we saw some brilliant batting. When Shikhar Dhawan goes, he would be the right replacement for him,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
“The only thing is that I want these Indian youngsters to first get opportunities in the sub-continent, because then when he goes to England, Australia or South Africa, there is confidence behind him,” he added.
Former India captain Sehwag then pointed out the potential he saw in the 21-year-old who had a great outing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2020 and the first half of IPL 2021.
“If he performs, it will help his confidence and he can be a future star. He has that talent based on what I've seen in his batting. There’s no better thing than him getting an opportunity against Sri Lanka. He just needs to keep a little bit of patience and needs to be careful with his shot selection,” the 42-year-old said.
Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian will look to win the third T20I and end the Sri Lanka tour on a perfect note.
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
