CHENNAI: A slight push down the ground. A quick single and a leap off the surface before the helmet came off in India whites. Devdutt Padikkal had dreamt of this moment for a long time. He had waited for it all his life. To play Test cricket for India. To score a Test century.
And it all came true at Galle as the Karnataka lad cruised to a breezy century putting India in command on Day 1 of the first Test against Sri Lanka. Padikkal — Test cap 314 — now has a Test hundred next to his name as India finished with 288/2 when stumps were drawn on a rain-affected day of Test cricket.
The road to this point has been anything but a fairy tale. Having made his debut on March 7, 2024 and playing his second match in November that year, Padikkal had been waiting, with patience for another chance with the Indian team.
However, waiting for a chance to bat is not new to Padikkal. It's been the story of his career long before cricket even became an option for him to pursue. Till 11, Padikkal, along with his parents Babunu Kunnath and Ambili Padikkal, waited in Hyderabad before the family shifted to Bengaluru for his cricketing dreams.
Then for eight straight days, he did not get a chance to bat at the Karnataka Institute Of Cricket (KIOC) academy. All he did was bowl before Kunnath took his teary-eyed 12-year-old to Mohammed Naseeruddin. From the moment the coach saw him bat, there was no looking back. He rose through the ranks and made an impression on chief selector Ajit Agarkar with a sensational century in Ranji Trophy against Tamil Nadu in Chennai to get a Test call-up. He made his debut as No 4 when Shubman Gill wanted to bat No 3. He moved to No 3 when Gill missed out in Perth, but since then, he waited on the sidelines.
Since his debut, B Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Karun Nair, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have batted at No 3, but Padikkal waited. He did his work on the sidelines, upskilling himself year after year, as he did even before the Sri Lanka tour. Every time he came back, he looked beeter. The wait, however, did not seem to be ending anytime soon.
Even till last week, Sai Sudharsan was expected to start. But his injury timeline meant Padikkal's penance finally ended. And the Bengaluru boy who was born to bat knows enough to not let go of it. From the moment he walked in, the left-hander looked at ease. With fellow Karnataka player Rahul by his side, Padikkal remained the aggressor, taking on anything in his area with ease. It did not matter whether it was Prabath Jayasuriya's spin or Lahiru Kumara's pace, not for a second he looked out of place as Padikkal cruised towards the three-figure mark.
When the moment came, he lifted his arm aloft in ecstacy before letting out a smile. The knock, he is still batting on 131 and does not look like he is done yet, was a reminder to himself that he belongs in the middle after waiting for more than 600 days. But also to Agarkar, who was lauding him from the stands, his coach Gautam Gambhir, who was smiling on his feet in the dressing room, and to Indian cricket; that Devdutt Padikkal has arrived and is very much here to stay with the Indian team as their No 3.