Devdutt Padikkal has ended India’s search for the number-3 batsman by scoring two consecutive centuries in the Test series against Sri Lanka. He played innings of 167 runs in Galle and 117 runs in Colombo. Padikkal scored the highest score of 328 runs for India in the series and was adjudged Player of the Series. Of these, 123 runs came against spin bowlers. 26 year old Padikkal got a chance in the team in place of injured Sai Sudarshan. But at the number-3 position, where there are continuous changes after Cheteshwar Pujara in 2023, Padikkal has strengthened his claim in just three innings. The story talks about India’s problems at number 3, Padikkal’s domestic cricket record and the special technique of playing spin… Why is the number 3 position so important in India? In Test cricket, the number 3 batsman often has to play the role of both opener and middle order. Therefore this is one of the most important batting positions of the team. Rahul Dravid scored more than 10 thousand runs for India at this venue. After him Cheteshwar Pujara took this responsibility. In 13 years, he scored 6529 runs while playing 155 innings at number-3. After Pujara’s last Test on 11 June 2023, India tried a total of 7 batsmen at number-3. Shubhman Gill was the first to get this position. He scored 972 runs on this number. When he missed the Test, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul also batted at this position. But after Kohli’s retirement, Gill started batting at number-4. After this, Sai Sudarshan was included in the team on the England tour. Although they could not do anything special. At number-3, Sudarshan has scored 383 runs at an average of around 32. Karun Nair and Washington Sundar also got a chance at this number in the England series. He also could not win the trust of the team. In such a situation, Devdutt Padikkal has put himself at the forefront of the race by scoring 353 runs in just 5 innings. How did you get the opportunity in Sri Lanka? Sai Sudarshan ruled out of Sri Lanka tour due to injury. This opened up the number 3 spot for Padikkal. Earlier, he had scored two half-centuries for India A and had played an unbeaten inning of 142 runs in the tour game in Sri Lanka. Padikkal scored 812 runs at an average of 47.76 in the 2025–26 domestic first-class season. This included innings of 150 against Australia A and 232 in the Ranji Trophy semi-final. While captaining Karnataka, he also took the team to the finals. Padikkal scored at an average of 109.33. Padikkal scored 167 runs in the first innings of the first test and added 44 runs in the second innings. He played an innings of 117 runs in the second test. In this way, he had 328 runs in his name in the series. He batted at an average of 109.33. Both his centuries came in consecutive Test matches. This performance was also special because it was his first series, where he played all the matches. Earlier, he got a chance to play one Test each against Australia and England in 2024. Padikkal’s backfoot game against spin has been strong for India’s batsmen, but in recent times the team has been troubled by this weakness. New Zealand’s spinners took 37 wickets in three Tests and their average was 23.48. After this, South African spinners took 25 wickets in two Tests in India and bowled at an average of 15.48. This was the best average in Test history for spinners of a foreign team in India. In this period, Devdutt Padikkal adopted a different approach against spin. In the series against Sri Lanka, he played 37.4% of the length balls from the spinners with the backfoot. Even during his innings of 117 runs in the Colombo Test, Padikkal scored 52 runs off the backfoot against spin, of which 47 runs came on length balls. His strike rate against spin in the Sri Lanka series was around 65. Padikkal’s height of 6 feet 3 inches also helps in his style. Even on good length balls, he goes back and plays shots like cut, punch and pull. Usually, Indian batsmen play on the front foot against spin, whereas Padikkal’s method is different. What is the difference between Padikkal and Sai Sudarshan? Both the batsmen adopt the method of playing on the back foot against the length balls of the spinners. Sai Sudarshan used the backfoot on such balls about 36.5% of the time, which is almost equal to Padikkal’s 37.4%. The difference is visible in scoring runs from these shots. Padikkal scores runs at a strike rate of around 50 on backfoot shots, whereas Sai Sudarshan’s strike rate on these shots has been in single digits. How strong is Padikkal’s record in domestic cricket? Padikkal showed his batting prowess in domestic cricket right from the junior stage. In the 2018 Cooch Behar Trophy, he scored 829 runs and was the fourth highest run-scorer of the tournament. After this he got a place in the senior team of Karnataka. In the 2019–20 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Padikkal scored 609 runs and was the top run-scorer of the tournament. During this time, he also scored his first List-A century. His performance of scoring 812 runs in the 2025–26 first-class season also strengthened his Test claim. How was your IPL and international career? Padikkal made his IPL debut for RCB in 2020. He scored three half-centuries in the first four matches and scored 473 runs in the entire season. He was also named Emerging Player of the Year. In 2021, he scored his first IPL century by scoring an unbeaten 101 against Rajasthan Royals. After this, Padikkal scored 637 runs in 28 matches in two seasons for Rajasthan Royals, while for Lucknow Super Giants in 2024, his average was only 5.43. However, being a part of RCB’s title team in 2025 and 2026, he contributed to the team winning two consecutive IPL trophies. In 2025, he scored 247 runs in 10 matches, while in 2026, he scored 464 runs in 16 matches. Padikkal made his debut in Test cricket against England in 2024. He scored 65 runs in the very first innings. However, his performance on the 2024-25 Australia tour was not good and he could only score 0 and 25 runs in both the innings. What do Dravid and Pujara say about Padikkal? Former Indian captain Rahul Dravid praised Padikkal’s innings of 167 runs in the Galle Test against Sri Lanka. He said that Padikkal, who came into the team in place of injured Sai Sudarshan, took great advantage of the opportunity and played his first big innings at number 3. Like Dravid, Padikkal has made an effective start at number 3. Dravid has also been helpful to him in Karnataka cricket. According to Padikkal, Dravid is always available at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to meet him and give necessary advice. At the same time, former number-3 batsman Cheteshwar Pujara believes that Padikkal should get a chance in this position for some continuous time. According to him, Padikkal was ready for this opportunity on the basis of his performance in domestic cricket and IPL and he has also worked on his technique.
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क्या पडिक्कल बनेंगे भारत के अगले द्रविड़ या पुजारा: नंबर-3 पर लगातार दो शतक; श्रीलंका सीरीज में 328 रन, इनमें 123 स्पिन के खिलाफ
