Red-hot Padikkal gets a maiden India Test call up

Chennai: Karnataka mainstay Devdutt Padikkal flew out of Chennai to join the Indian squad as KL Rahul’s replacement for the third India-England Test in Rajkot.

The news was revealed to Padikkal upon his return to the dressing room after Karnataka managed to earn three points from a thrilling draw against Tamil Nadu in their Group C Ranji Trophy encounter at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk. 

“There was a call from Rahul (Dravid) and he announced that Padikkal will be joining the Test squad because Rahul hasn’t passed the fitness Test,” said a source.  

Rahul, who complained of pain in his quadriceps during the first Test match in Hyderabad, was ruled out of the second Test, and his availability for the games to follow was subject to fitness-test clearance though his name featured in the squad announced on Saturday. 

Sources revealed that Ravindra Jadeja has been cleared to play the third Test - a crucial game since the series is tied 1-1 - but Rahul wasn’t able to go through tests without discomfort. 

It’s still not certain as to how long the Karnataka batter will not be available for selection, but given the nature of the injury, it won’t be a surprise if he misses the fourth Test too. 

This is quite a blow to the India team, which is already without the services of Virat Kohli. Kohli opted out of the five-Test series due to personal reasons. 

That said, the injection of Padikkal into the side offers them a left-handed brisk-scoring option in the middle-order. 

Padikkal has been piling on runs at an unprecedented rate of late, including a 151 against Tamil Nadu a couple of days ago. 

Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar was in the stands to witness Padikkal go on a tear against Tamil Nadu. Sources said the former India cricketer was at the venue with the intention of finding a cover for Rahul and left-arm orthodox Jadeja. 

Padikkal had scored 105, 65 and 21 runs for India A against the England Lions in the two unofficial Tests a couple of weeks ago so there was only so long they could look past him.

The 23-year-old batter had played two Twenty20 Internationals for India in Sri Lanka in 2021 but was out of action for close to a year due to an illness. 

Since returning, however, Padikkal’s fortunes have been on the up, and now he stands on the cusp of joining a healthy list of Karnataka cricketers to own an India Test cap.

India’s updated squad for third Test: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Devdutt Padikkal.