Some may find it harsh but Devdutt Padikkal has closed the door on Sai Sudharsan, for now at least. His back-to-back centuries in Sri Lanka are no ordinary feats, and now he has the right-of-way at No.3. Sudharsan, who got injured before the Tests and was replaced by Sarfaraz Khan, can come back into the squad for the next assignment but there is no way he can bat at No.3 straight away. He will have to wait.
It’s not so much the big runs that Padikkal has scored that have strengthened his case; it’s the manner in which he has got those runs. His 167 in the first Test at Galle was a huge effort. Second day onwards, the pitch had become venomous with spinners being the beneficiaries. He added 36 to his overnight score of 131 and then, in the second innings, with spinners all over the Indian batsmen, he scored a dogged 44. He passed the Test against spinners in Galle. Then in Colombo, it was a totally different track on offer, partial to pacers, and again Padikkal gave a great account of himself with 117 runs. He passed the test against the pacers too.
Padikkal’s batting has been reassuring. That has been the best part so far. You see him bat, play those elegant shots all around the wicket and you know he is in for something. Prior to his return to the team, Padikkal last represented the national team on the tour of Australia in 2024-2025. In the only match that he played in that series as an injury replacement for Shubman Gill, he scored 25 across two innings, and once Gill returned for the second Test, he wasn’t seen in action again for the national team until the first Test in Galle.
It appears the Karnataka batsman was waiting for one more opportunity. He looked hungry for runs and accolades, having last represented India almost two years ago, and he made those opportunities in Galle and Colombo count.
Sudharsan not good enough!
Sudharsan, on the other hand, had failed to make any real impression in the seven games that he played for India. He made his debut against England in Leeds last year. He played three matches and across six innings got just one fifty. What was alarming was the way he was moving at the crease while facing the balls. That was not becoming at all for a Test player. His dismissals down leg (caught by Jamie Smith off Ben Stokes) and the awkward leave off Chris Woakes that accounted for his wicket weren’t a pretty sight.
Later in the year, against the West Indies, he got one fifty in three innings at home. He also featured in one Test against South Africa, and across two innings, he made 29 runs and fell to spinners in both. There is nothing more alarming for an Indian batsman than that he can’t score runs at home. That’s a big red flag. Earlier this year, in June, in the one-off Test against Afghanistan at the New Chandigarh Stadium, he got just 81 when he should have got a big hundred.
So when all is said and done, Padikkal appears the right choice at present. After the Colombo Test, India next tour New Zealand in October-November for a full series, including a two-Test rubber after white-ball contests. When India take the field at Wellington in the first Test on November 19, it should be 26-year-old Padikkal the designated number three. As said before, he has earned the right. Sudharsan should wait.
