“I felt like I had earned that spot” – Devdutt Padikkal on making his Test debut on the back of an impressive domestic season

India’s rookie batter Devdutt Padikkal made his Test debut against England, earlier in the year. The left-hander scored an impressive knock of 65 runs in his maiden Test innings at Dharamshala and impressed one and all.

The Karnataka batter had earned his maiden Test call-up after a sensational run in the domestic season. Padikkal was named in the Test squad after KL Rahul was ruled out of the third match against England at Rajkot.

The 23-year-old has scored 2292 runs in 32 first-class matches at an average of 44.94. The left-hander was in terrific form in the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 season, scoring 556 runs in four matches at an impressive average of 92.66 and thus he was rewarded by the selectors for his consistent performances.

“To be honest, going into that game (against England), I felt ready. I felt like I had earned that spot. Obviously, I played a lot in domestic cricket that year and I got a lot of runs in the Ranji Trophy as well,” Padikkal said while talking to PTI.

“So, once you have those runs behind you, you have that confidence. Even playing for India, it feels natural and that was the case for me. And obviously, getting that 50 (on Test debut) gave me some more confidence as well,” the left-handed batter added.

The flamboyant batter added there is a lot for him to improve and he wants to keep getting better at the top level.

“It’s important that I continue to improve. Obviously, Test cricket keeps challenging you. It’s a difficult format to play. So, I just have to keep focusing on things where I can improve. There’s a lot for me to learn. So, I’m continuing to work on things that I need to improve on,” the promising youngster said.

Padikkal has played two T20Is for India in which he has scored 38 runs and he will look to grab his chance in the upcoming Duleep trophy.