Youngster Devdutt Padikkal is one of the five newcomers into the Indian team along with Chetan Sakariya, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Rana and Krishnappa Gowtham. Having made waves first in the domestic circuit and later the Indian Premier League, playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Padikkal made the right noises and was rewarded with a maiden India call-up for the team's limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka.
And as he gets set to receive his India cap, Padikkal cannot hold back his excitement. The 21-year-old is obviously nervous ahead of his debut, but the good thing is that he already knows what he needs to do to calm those nerves. Padikkal aims to follow the example set by none other than his captain Shikhar Dhawan.
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Eight years, ago, Dhawan scored a century on debut for India when he blazed away to 187 against Australia in Mohali. In fact, he brought up his century off just 85 balls making him the player to score the fastest century on debut. Ahead of the start of the Sri Lanka series, Padikkal spoke about how he is eager to learn from Dhawan.
"This will be a really great opportunity for me to learn from someone who is similar to me. Obviously, he is also a left-handed opener and I have watched a lot of his batting as I have grown up. His Test debut against Australia is pretty unforgettable, to be honest. To see how he batted... I was really inspired by how fearless he was on his debut. Cut short, there is a lot I can learn from him and I am looking forward to playing under him," Padikkal said on the 'Follow The Blues' Show on Star Sports.
{{/usCountry}}"This will be a really great opportunity for me to learn from someone who is similar to me. Obviously, he is also a left-handed opener and I have watched a lot of his batting as I have grown up. His Test debut against Australia is pretty unforgettable, to be honest. To see how he batted... I was really inspired by how fearless he was on his debut. Cut short, there is a lot I can learn from him and I am looking forward to playing under him," Padikkal said on the 'Follow The Blues' Show on Star Sports.
{{/usCountry}}Getting an India call-up was nothing short of a dream, admits Padikkal. Last year in the IPL, Padikkal amassed 473 runs from 15 matches, becoming only the second player in the tournament's history to score over 400 runs in a debut season. Earlier this year, in IPL 2021, Padikkal had taken his tally to 195 runs from six matches, including a century. With the SL series being India's last T20 assignment before the T20 World Cup, a lot is at stake, but Padikkal is not thinking to far ahead and is staying in the present.
"Dream come true because ever since I started playing cricket at nine years old, this is the moment I have always dreamt about and always wanted to achieve. So to be picked to represent the country is a feeling which is very hard to explain. So I am really grateful for this opportunity," he added.