Former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra has said that Devdutt Padikkal is a long-term prospect in Tests as well. However, he added that India’s upcoming two-match Test series against New Zealand and the five-match series at home against Australia would be the real test for the star batter as well. However, Padikkal was the Player of the Match in India’s 165-run win in the recently concluded first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. He scored 167 runs in the first innings and a 44-run knock in the second innings as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “It’s not horses for courses. A place had opened up, and he got a chance. He is a proper, proper player. He plays very well technically and has come here after going through the rigors of first-class cricket. It’s not like you have fast-tracked him. We had definitely fast-tracked Sai Sudharsan a little because it seemed like he was just the right guy for Test cricket.”
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“Padikkal’s playing style is also like that, and he is backing it up with a lot of runs. So this is not a short-term selection. In my opinion, Devdutt Padikkal could be here for a very, very long time. He will remain in the team if the next match goes well. The real test will be the two Tests in New Zealand, and then the five against Australia at home,” he further added.
However, Aakash Chopra also shared his thoughts on KL Rahul being appointed deputy to Shubman Gill in Tests as well.
“I am with you on this one. I have never thought from that perspective. You think about a vice-captain from what perspective? That he is next in line, that if the captain goes, the second one will come, but the second should either be of the same age or younger. If you are making a vice-captain who is eight years older than the captain, as good as KL Rahul is, he is a good captaincy candidate, he has got a good cricketing brain, but he is not getting younger. If he is doing the vice-captaincy for a 26-year-old captain, he is not the next in line,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
