In left-handed Padikkal, India has an elite member among contemporary batsmen in the 50 overs category, even ahead of the King of ODIs, Virat Kohli. With wonderful statistics, Padikkal earns great reverence and this makes it a huge case in his favor, going past Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and other greats of 50-over-format. The 24-year-old cricketer from Karnataka boasts a mind-boggling average of 82.52 in List A (50-over cricket), which is far ahead of any other Indian. Adding to that, he has crossed the 2000-run mark in the List A format with such an average already, which makes his record that more special.
Padikkal this time around is in awesome form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, the premier 50-over tournament featuring most of India’s domestic cricket. The left-hander got to score his seventh straight fifty in this tournament as Karnataka made it to the final by walloping Haryana, completing this streak over two seasons.
Padikkal has scored 2063 runs in 31 List A innings, with a half-decent strike rate of over 91.
His crazy average puts him ahead of Virat Kohli (57.05), Cheteshwar Pujara (57.01) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (56.80) on the list of highest List A averages for Indian batters.
Among players with 50 or more innings, legendary Australian all-rounder Michael Bevan boasts a record of a superb List A batting average, yet Padikkal’s stands at insuperable 57.86 that no one has ever equaled.
Padikkal made his Test debut for India, playing one against England at home and one against Australia, in 2024 for Test cricket itself, and T20I cricket for India in 2021. Curiously enough, he hasn’t been considered even as yet for the ODI selection.
With such a phenomenal form he has had to offer, Padikkal could just stake his claim into the selectors’ thoughts regarding the India ODI setup. Though he would not be a consideration for the Champions Trophy.
He was, however, scooped up at the base price in 2025 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the IPL.
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