Devdutt Padikkal has not only made life difficult for Sri Lanka with his batting, but he has also created a big headache for Gautam Gambhir and Sai Sudharsan.
Things are simply not going Gambhir’s way at the moment. His preferred players are getting sidelined for one reason or another, while the deserving candidates are making the most of every limited opportunity they get.
Players are now fighting hard for their places because they know how tough it is to survive in the Indian team under Gautam Gambhir. When a talented player gets an opportunity, he has to grab it in such a way that it becomes almost impossible for the team management to drop him and bring back their preferred player.
And that is exactly what Padikkal is doing.
Sai Sudharsan's injury opened the door for Devdutt Padikkal
Sai Sudharsan must also be wondering why he had to get injured at exactly this time.
His injury gave Padikkal an opportunity at No. 3, and the in-form left-hander has grabbed it with both hands. Suddenly, the debate around India’s No. 3 position looks completely different.
This is what happens when you give an opportunity to a player who has scored plenty of runs in domestic cricket. Such a batter knows how to score runs and how to build an innings.
Gambhir can continue backing Sudharsan and talk about giving him a longer run, but cricket ultimately comes down to performances.
A talented player may be kept waiting for an opportunity, but once he gets that chance and starts scoring heavily, it becomes very difficult to ignore him.
Padikkal Is Making His Case With Runs
Devdutt Padikkal has done enough in a very short period to show why he deserved an opportunity at No. 3 much earlier.
In my opinion, he should have been among the first options considered for this position. But the team management continued to back Sai Sudharsan.
The situation became even more interesting after Padikkal scored a century.
Instead of getting carried away by one performance, Gambhir made it clear ahead of the second Test that a player cannot be judged on the basis of just one match.
Perhaps that was also a hint that Sudharsan remained in the team management’s long-term plans at No. 3.
But Padikkal seems to understand the situation very well.
If one century is not enough, score again. If there is still a possibility of being dropped when Sudharsan returns, keep making runs until leaving you out becomes almost impossible.
That is the best answer a player can give.
Devdutt Padikkal vs Sai Sudharsan: Test Stats Also Tell a Story
Now look at the numbers because they make this No. 3 debate even more interesting.
Sai Sudharsan has played 7 Tests and scored 383 runs in 12 innings at an average of 31.92. He has three half-centuries, with 87 being his highest score, but he is yet to score a Test century.
Padikkal, on the other hand, has now scored back-to-back Test centuries against Sri Lanka. After smashing 167 in the first Test in Galle, he followed it with another brilliant 117 off 193 balls in the second Test in Colombo.
| Test Record | Devdutt Padikkal | Sai Sudharsan |
|---|---|---|
| Matches | 4* | 7 |
| Runs | 418* | 383 |
| Highest Score | 167 | 87 |
| Centuries | 2 | 0 |
| Fifties | 1 | 3 |
Padikkal’s figures include his 117 in the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka and may change as the match progresses.
And this is where Gautam Gambhir’s headache becomes even bigger.
Padikkal has now gone past Sudharsan’s Test run tally despite playing considerably fewer matches. More importantly, he has already converted two of his opportunities into centuries, while Sudharsan is still searching for his maiden Test hundred.
Of course, both players are still at an early stage of their Test careers, so it would be unfair to completely judge either of them on such a small sample size.
But we can only judge what we have seen so far.
And based on what we have seen, Padikkal has certainly made the stronger case for India’s No. 3 position.
Two consecutive Test hundreds are no longer about just one good innings. Padikkal has now given the Indian team management exactly what it wanted to see — consistency.
If one century was not enough to secure the position, he has answered with another one.
Now the question becomes even bigger: when Sai Sudharsan becomes fit again, how can Gautam Gambhir leave Devdutt Padikkal out after back-to-back Test centuries?
Another Century Makes Padikkal Almost Impossible to Drop
Devdutt Padikkal once again made his opportunity count in the Colombo Test. The left-hander scored a brilliant 117 off 193 balls, including 12 foursregistering his second consecutive Test century after scoring 167 in the first Test at Galle.
This hundred has made his case for the No. 3 position even stronger. One century could have been called a one-match performance, but back-to-back hundreds are difficult for any team management to ignore.
Padikkal has done exactly what a player needs to do when there is competition for his place. Don’t leave the decision in someone else’s hands. Keep scoring runs and make yourself almost impossible to drop.
Can Sai Sudharsan Walk Straight Back Into the Playing XI?
This is now the biggest question.
What happens when Sai Sudharsan becomes fully fit?
Before Padikkal got these opportunities, perhaps the answer would have been simple. Sudharsan returns and takes his place back at No. 3.
It is not that simple anymore.
Padikkal has scored runs, he has already produced a big century, and he is once again looking comfortable at the crease. How do you remove a batter who is doing his job?
Gambhir can say that players should not be judged on one Test match, and that is absolutely fair. But the same logic should also apply to Padikkal.
If a player continues performing, he deserves a proper run as well.
At least for the next series, it now looks very difficult to push Padikkal aside at No. 3 simply to bring Sudharsan back.