Former Indian player Sanjay Manjrekar believes Devdutt Padikkal’s heroics in the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka have shown the importance of playing domestic cricket on home conditions. He entered the series on the back of stunning performances on Indian pitches across formats in domestic cricket as well. Padikkal has looked a class apart in the two Tests so far, scoring centuries in the first innings of both matches as well.
Talking about Devdutt Padikkal, Manjrekar said on the Sony Sports Network, “Padikkal has shown us the kind of blunders India have made in the past. We didn’t realize that our batters and big stars had become like NRIs who play away from home so much that they lost touch playing on Indian pitches, where they grew up and excelled. Padikkal has shown the value of that. India blundered when they had all their star players just play outside India for four or five years, because of which none of the star players had any practice of playing on home pitches.”
READ HERE: Shubman Gill Breaks Silence On ODI Futures Of Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli
“His attacking skills are also an extension of his defence. Many batters attack because they are not comfortable defending, mainly English batters. But this guy looks in command at all times on front and backfoot. His appetite for big runs also highlights the value of domestic cricket,” he further added.
However, Sanjay Manjrekar said that Devdutt Padikkal is the ideal No.3 batter for India in the long run in the red-ball format. He also claimed that the batter could have helped India avoid their recent series losses at home to New Zealand and South Africa as well.
“He hasn’t put a foot wrong in this series, and he is one for the long run. I want to see how he reacts to conditions in New Zealand. But if Padikkal had played against New Zealand at home in those three matches, batting at No.3, the story would have been completely different. He is one Indian batter who looks proficient against spin. India have missed a batter like him at No.3, and he just sets the right template for the batters that follow,” concluded Sanjay Manjrekar.
