“Shikhar Dhawan’s Test debut against Australia is pretty unforgettable” – Devdutt Padikkal

Devdutt Padikkal and Shikhar Dhawan

Young opening batsman Devdutt Padikkal recently received his maiden national call after brilliant Indian Premier League (IPL) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) seasons in 2021.

The 21-year-old has emerged as one of the best batsmen in the domestic circuit in the past few years. As a result, Padikkal’s name was there in the 20-member squad of team India for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, scheduled from July 13.

In a recent interaction, the Karnataka batsman talked about Shikhar Dhawan, who is the stand-in skipper for the white-ball series in the island nation. He recalled the memorable Test debut of the Delhi-born against Australia where he played a scintillating knock 187 runs from just 174 balls in Mohali. The southpaw revealed that Dhawan’s knock inspired him because of the fearlessness and he’s looking forward to playing under him against SL.

“This will be a really great opportunity for me to learn from someone 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.

“Dream come true” – Padikkal on maiden national call-up

Devdutt Padikkal has scored a lot of runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2020 and 2021

After winning the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ award in IPL 2020, Padikkal went on to become the second-highest run-getter in this year’s VHT. Meanwhile, he also smashed four consecutive centuries in the tournament. And his selection for the ‘Men in Blue’ is the rightly-taken decision.

During the interaction, Devdutt Padiikal stated that it’s a “dream come true” moment for him as he always wanted to represent the nation.

“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.

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