Former Indian batter and commentator Aakash Chopra has reckoned that the pressure will now come on Sai Sudharsan after the No.3 batter Devdutt Padikkal scored an exceptional century in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, which is currently underway.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra asserted that Sudharsan was getting enough opportunities, but he wasn’t able to clinch his spot. He went on to add that if Padikkal does well in the second Test as well, then the selection committee might make some interesting calls.
“The pressure will now come on Sai. He was getting opportunities, but Sai hasn’t been able to clinch his spot, and I think he is going to feel the pressure. The first match has already gone well, and if the second also goes well for Devdutt Padikkal, then this selection committee will have to make a very interesting call,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“When you go to New Zealand for the Test series, there are only two Tests there as well, will you go towards Sai or invest in Devdutt because Devdutt is almost making himself undroppable at this point in time? That’s what I feel,” he added.
Furthermore, Chopra has emphasized that Padikkal brought up his domestic form to international cricket, playing some exceptional shots off the back and front foot. Notably, Padikkal scored 167 runs off 230 balls with 15 fours and a six in the ongoing Test.
“The fact is that this is just his third Test match. He has had a two-and-a-half-year international career. He made his debut against England in Dharamshala. After that, he played a match in Perth. He got two innings there for sure, but he hasn’t played cricket for India for one and a half years after that,” he said.
“He was just waiting. He was scoring runs in first-class cricket, but wasn’t getting an opportunity. Now that he has gotten a chance, he has scored a century, and he dominates. He bats beautifully against spin and fast bowling off the back foot and the front foot. The hard yards he has put in domestic cricket shows that he has matured, and he is ready,” Chopra concluded.
