Devdutt Padikkal Eyes India Test Spot, Determined To Shine In Duleep Trophy

Devdutt Padikkal aims to get ready for the upcoming international season by scoring big in the Duleep Trophy. The stylish batter believes that these runs will keep him competitive among the strong candidates fighting for a spot in India's middle order.

Having made his Test debut against England earlier this year, Padikkal is set to represent Team D in the Duleep Trophy, which kicks off on September 5.

“Yeah, definitely it's (Duleep Trophy) a very important tournament. You don't get too many opportunities at the highest level. So, it's important that I continue to score runs and the Duleep Trophy gives me an opportunity for that,” Padikkal told PTI on Tuesday.

“I had a really good red ball season last year, that gave me the India opportunity. Obviously, making my debut was something very special. So, I have to keep continuing that form as there is a lot of competition around,” he added.

Padikkal was reflecting on his impressive performance in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy season, where he amassed a remarkable 556 runs in just four matches, averaging over 93 with three centuries. The left-hander mentioned that the volume of runs he scored last season kept him mentally ready when the opportunity to play for India arose.

“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.

“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,” he noted.

Devdutt Padikkal Aims To Improve His Game

“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,” he said.

Devdutt will be working towards focusing more on playing white ball format and an increase in the strike rate in One-Day and T20 Format.

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“I've been working on a few things. You know, trying to better my strike-rate and you know, really have a different mindset in T20 cricket.

“I've been trying to implement that in this KSCA Maharaja Trophy. It's getting better. So, hopefully, I can continue to do that.”

Focusing On All The Three Formats

“Yeah, it is challenging. It's more a mental shift than anything else. I try to keep my basics the same as much as possible in all the three formats.”

“It's about mentally making that shift to being a little bit more aggressive in the one-day format and obviously more aggressive in the T20 format.

“So, in a sense, the way I bat doesn't change. It's just the extra shots that you end up playing in the different formats,” he elaborated.

Padikkal's Health Issues

“Yeah, I've pretty much completely got out of it. It's not something that goes away pretty quickly. I'm still managing it. But at the same time, I'm not in a situation where I was a couple of years back where I couldn't play.

“So, as long as I'm good enough to play, I'm perfectly fine. And I'm still working on managing the condition. Obviously, it will take some more time. But that is not affecting my playing cricket,” he noted.

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KSCA Maharaja Trophy

Devdutt is aiming to perform his best for the Gulbarga Mystics.

“Our campaign has been great. We've played some very good cricket. We have some really good young players coming through. Obviously, the last couple of games we have made a few changes, as we are just trying a few things.

“Since we have already qualified, we just want to give everyone an opportunity. Hopefully, in the knockouts, we'll have our full team back and we'll have a good show,” he signed off.