Padikkal’s willow charting its own destiny
Around seven years ago, in a Ranji Trophy game against Uttar Pradesh, a left-hand batter from Karnataka played with unruffled elegance. His drives off Mohit Jangra had the stamp of a batter destined for higher honours. Unfortunately, the promising 19-year-old Devdutt Padikkal couldn’t convert yet another start into a hundred. By the end of that Ranji season, Padikkal had a 99 against Himachal Pradesh, along with nine other first-class fifties to his name. But that elusive century was still missing from his batting cabinet.
Padikkal eventually scored his maiden first-class hundred against Puducherry in the 2021-22 season. A couple of years later, he even represented India in Test cricket. The general consensus, however, seemed to be that Padikkal wasn’t really cut out to play at the highest level for long. His average of a mere 5.42 for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL only reinforced that perception.
Perhaps there was more to Padikkal’s calm demeanour than his critics imagined. In 2026, he has battered down the door to national selection with a mountain of runs in domestic cricket, hundreds in a couple of Test matches in Sri Lanka, and, most recently, a superlative 199 against New Zealand A.
Despite all those runs, Padikkal’s calm exterior remains unchanged. Consider his remarkable composure while answering a question about his tendency to play back to fuller-length deliveries from spinners after the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai.
“I think that [playing off the back foot] comes naturally [to me],” he said. “I think that’s a technical thing that some batsmen prefer, to play more on the back foot. For me personally, I don’t see it as a risk and it’s part of my game. It’s something that I’ve done my whole career. It’s not something different for me. For someone who is not used to playing on the back foot much, that might seem like a risk. But at the end of the day, those are things that you have to continue to adapt to.”
The serenity that characterises the left-hand batter’s speech is also evident in his batsmanship. In the recently concluded match between New Zealand A and India A, the visitors were in deep trouble after losing two quick wickets in the second innings. Padikkal didn’t just engineer India’s recovery; he put his team firmly on top with a defining knock of 199.
The unmistakable brilliance that radiated from Padikkal’s willow during his formative years was very much in evidence during that marathon effort in Lincoln. But it was also apparent that he had made a noticeable addition to his batting manual: a small trigger movement to counter a burst of pace and movement.
Padikkal’s willingness to upgrade his skill set and make the necessary adjustments is yet another indication that he is charting his own destiny. After all, even before he was born, destiny seemed to be Padikkal’s best friend. The story goes that his parents had decided that if they were to have a son, they would make him a cricketer. Padikkal has not only fulfilled his parents’ wish but also appears to have made the No. 3 spot in India’s Test line-up his own.
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