Has Devdutt Padikkal Finally Solved India’s No. 3 Problem?
Devdutt Padikkal has been India's star with the bat in the series against Sri Lanka. He batted at number three in place of Sai Sudharsan, who missed out due to an injury. With the series coming to an end, Padikkal ended as the highest run-scorer and the POTS award.
The India tour of Sri Lanka might just be the life changing one for Devdutt Padikkal. After some brilliant performances in the IPL and domestic matches, he was able to be back in the Test side. It was not expected that he would make it to the playing XI, but Sai Sudharsan's fitness didn't allow India's usual number three to be there.
So, Padikkal started off by taking his spot in the warm-up match and he didn't look back. He went on to score a century for the Indian team against Sri Lanka A, sealing his spot in the main team. And eventually in the first Test, he finished scoring a ton in the first innings and 44 runs in the second. As India won the game, he also won the POTM award.
Later in the second Test, he was able to score yet another century for the Indian team, bringing up two tons in just three innings. Even though the last game didn't belong to either team, the series belonged to Devdutt Padikkal, who held his bat strongly. With this, he finished as India's highest run-scorer and even won the Player of the Series award.
Our Take
Devdutt Padikkal seems to have solved the number three problem for the Indian team. Sai Sudharsan was looking well at this position but now after taking a look at Padikkal, it seems that the Indian team has found a better answer. It will be a huge challenge for the selectors to decide who among Sudharsan and Devdutt will be able to stay at this position.