Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag was in praises for Devdutt Padikkal after showing a good batting display against Sri Lanka in his debut T20I match in Colombo. Sehwag feels when Shikhar Dhawan retires, Padikkal will be the man to replace him.
Padikkal made his international debut against Sri Lanka during the second T20I of the three-match series. He batted well along with Shikhar Dhawan to score 29 runs in 23 balls, where he hit one four and one fix. He showed promising glimpses for the future and earned praises from the former Indian opener.
Also Read: Virender Sehwag hits back at Arjuna Ranatunga for his B team remark
“I really want to see him perform because the way he played a couple of innings, struck a century in the IPL, we saw some brilliant batting. When Shikhar Dhawan goes, he would be the right replacement for him. The only thing is that I want these Indian youngsters to first get opportunities in the sub-continent, because then when he goes to England, Australia or South Africa, there is confidence behind him,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
After Krunal Pandya was found positive for the Covid-19 virus, India’s squad received a serious reshuffle. Eight other players who came in close contact with him were kept in isolation and were unavailable for the remainder of the series. As a result, India handed four debut caps in the second T20I – Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana and Chetan Sakariya.
Also Read: Virender Sehwag feels Manish Pandey has played his last ODI
Padikkal had been in excellent form during the domestic cricket and earned a place for himself in the Indian squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. Sehwag feels performing well in Sri Lanka will do good to his confidence going ahead.
“If he performs, it will help his confidence and he can be a future star. He has that talent based on what I’ve seen in his batting. There’s no better thing than him getting an opportunity against Sri Lanka. The wickets will be flat, there will be no swing or seam. He just needs to keep a little bit of patience and needs to be careful with his shot selection. It shouldn’t be tough for him to score runs,” Sehwag pointed out.
