Devdutt Padikkal Earns Test Cap From Ashwin For 5th Test Against England

In the fifth and final Test match at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala against England, Devdutt Padikkal made his debut. India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, who is playing his 100th Test with England’s Jonny Bairstow, handed over the Test captaincy to the left-handed batsman. In India’s XI, Padikkal took Rajat Patidar’s spot.

In these five-match series, Padikkal became the sixth Indian cricket player to make his debut, following Patidar, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, and Akash Deep. Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir, two spinners, are the two newcomers from England this series. Over all, Padikkal was the 314th Test cricket player for India.

As per the official statement released by the BCCI, Patidar sustained an ankle injury during his practise on the eve of the match and was hence not eligible for selection. On March 6, 2024, during Team India’s practice, Rajat Patidar was struck in the left ankle. On the morning of the match, he had an injury that prevented him from playing in the fifth Test, according to the BCCI.

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒕…” 🇮🇳

We’re proud, Dev! Go well! 🥹🫶

📸: BCCI#PlayBold #TeamIndia #INDvENG #DevduttPadikkal @devdpd07 pic.twitter.com/CnHqUjnCf1
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 7, 2024

During his lengthy hitting practice on Wednesday, the right-hander—who was meant to be dropped from the team if KL Rahul was fit—did not appear to be uncomfortable.

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Padikkal Stats

Padikkal has participated in 31 first-class matches so far and has amassed 2227 runs at an average of 44.54, with six hundreds and twelve half-centuries. This season, he has averaged 92.66 while scoring 556 runs in four games, demonstrating his exceptional form. He also scored three hundreds in the six innings he has played, with each hundred being worth three figures. Padikkal was named player of the match in Karnataka’s fifth-round encounter against Tamil Nadu in Chennai, which concluded in a tie on Monday. He scored 151 and 36. In Karnataka’s opening game against Punjab, he hit his best score of the season, 193.

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Padikal was the part of A team that made an impression against the England Lions in Ahmedabad, scoring 65, 21, and 105. He contributed to a tremendous first-inning batting performance that helped secure an innings victory with his century in the second unofficial Test.

At the scenic stadium in the Himalayan foothills, England captain Ben Stokes chose to bat after winning the toss, so the 23-year-old would have to wait to demonstrate his batting talent.

Mark Wood, a fast bowler, came in for Ollie Robinson as the lone change for the tourists, who would be fighting for pride following India’s commanding 3-1 victory in Ranchi.

India removed pace leader Akash Deep and brought back speed spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in an attempt to maintain their lead in the World Test Championship rankings.

Playing XI

India XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.

EnglandXI: James Anderson, Shoaib Bashir,Ben Stokes (captain), Ben Foakes.Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood.