Devdutt Padikkal reveals Rahul Dravid’s pep talk that calmed pre-debut nerves | Cricket | Top Vip News

Team India youngster Devdutt Padikkal enjoyed an impressive debut during Day 2 of the fifth and final Test of the series against England. Padikkal, batting at No. 4 in his first Test appearance, held his nerve and scored an important 65 as India strengthened his position in Dharamshala against the English team.

Padikkal reached the crease following centurion Rohit Sharma’s big wicket and, minutes after his arrival, saw Shubman Gill too dismissed. However, the quick wickets did not deter the 23-year-old debutant’s concentration as he forged a strong stand against Sarfaraz Khan, bailing India out of trouble.

In a post-match interview with JioCine, Padikkal revealed that he was informed about the possibility of a Test debut on the eve of the match in Dharamsala. Naturally, there were nerves for the youngster, and it was his state colleague and Indian head coach, Rahul Dravid, whose words of encouragement helped Padikkal stay calm.

“Rahul sir mentioned to me yesterday, ‘The first 15 or 20 minutes you will have some nerves.’ Enjoy it, have fun with it and move on.” That stuck with me. I knew he was going to be nervous, but it was a nice challenge. That has definitely helped me,” Padikkal said.

Padikkal was included in the Team India squad following the departure of Shreyas Iyer, but remained on the bench while Rajat Patidar played at number 4. Following a training injury to Patidar, the Karnataka batsman was brought into the XI.

In his debut match, Padikkal’s offside play stood out as he delighted the crowd with exquisite back-foot strikes and covers.

India took a huge lead of 255 runs in the fifth Test, but Padikkal said the team is not considering the possibility of a three-day Test.

“We have not discussed nor are we looking into the future. We still have two wickets in hand; There is a good partnership going on. So hopefully we can keep hitting and get those runs and lead more,” the youngster said.