India’s No.3 batter Devdutt Padikkal, who top-scored for Team India in the recent two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, revealed how eagerly he had been waiting for the opportunity in the Indian Test playing XI.
Padikkal amassed 328 runs across three innings at an average of 109.33 and was named Player of the Series on the Sri Lankan Test tour, including scores of 167 in Galle and 117 in Colombo.
“Definitely, I was looking forward to it. Obviously, those opportunities don’t come very easily. It takes a lot of hard work to make sure that you are continuing to improve yourself and waiting for that opportunity. I had to make sure that I was ready whenever I got it,” Padikkal was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
“The fact that I was told at the start of the series that I was going to be playing was really exciting, and I felt like, personally, I was at the best stage of my career in terms of the way I was batting, so I was really looking forward to it,” he added.
Further, Padikkal admitted that his primary focus remains on contributing to the team rather than thinking about his batting position. Later, he insisted that he wanted to focus on his own game and enjoy the new challenges.
“At the end of the day, it’s about going out there and batting. It doesn’t matter what position I’m batting at, I’m trying to contribute to the side,” he noted.
“Yes, obviously, there have been great players who have played at number three for India over the years, and I’m sure there’ll be a lot more scrutiny on me and a lot more comparisons made. But at the end of the day, I’m going out there and just playing my cricket, and as long as I’m enjoying that, I think everything will fall into place,” Devdutt concluded.
