With a slew of injuries and omissions, Team India is now likely to hand a Test debut to batsman Devdutt Padikkal in the fifth match against England, beginning March 7 in Dharamshala. With KL Rahul still not fully fit from his prolonged quads injury, the chances of him playing in the last Test are rather slim.
In fact, Rahul had gone to the UK a couple of days back, to get a clarity on his injury. Now, as per a report in the Hindustan Times, the wicket-keeper batsman, all but out of contention.
Padikkal’s Excellent Form & Patidar’s Struggles
A debut for Padikkal is also on the cards since Rajat Patidar, another keeper-batsman in the team, has failed miserably in the three Tests he has played. He has scored 32, 9, 5, 0, 17, 0 in the six innings so far, at an average of 10. On the other hand, Padikkal has shown, that he has the game to score runs in red-ball cricket.
He churned out consistent performances for Karnataka in Ranji Trophy, and then India A against England Lions. In the last FC matches, he has four tons, including a ton against the England Lions too.
“Padikkal will make his debut in Dharamshala. Rahul is unlikely to be available and the team management wants to have a look at Padikkal as it’s the last international fixture before the IPL,” a BCCI source told HT.
If that happens, it would be Team India’s fifth debut in the series after Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, and Akash Deep were handed their Test caps.
