The two-match Test series against the West Indies will kickoff on October 2.
Youngster Devdutt Padikkal has made a strong case for his return to the India Test side ahead of the upcoming home series against the West Indies with his sublime ton against Australia A. The 25-year-old followed the wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who finished Day 3 of the ongoing red-ball fixture with a 113 not out, to brought up his seventh First-Class century.
Alongside Jurel, the batter had also remained unbeaten on 86 after the third day’s play in Lucknow and continued the momentum in the following day to notch up a magnificent 150.
The young Indian batter has been in great touch of form in the recent matches. Following a few sub-par Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons, Padikkal had a blistering outing in the IPL 2025 after his return to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). His 247 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 150.61 played a key role in the Men in Red’s group-stage domination, which eventually ended with claiming their maiden title of the cash-rich league.
However, the batter could not feature in the playoffs for RCB after a hamstring injury ruled him out of the latest edition. But Padikkal made a smashing comeback in Karnataka’s domestic T20 league, the Maharaja Trophy 2025. He emerged as the top run-scorer of the tournament with 449 runs in 12 matches, averaging 40.82, at a strike rate of 154.83 and also led his team, Hubli Tigers, to the summit clash.
This blazing run of form was also on display in the recently concluded red-ball tournament, the Duleep Trophy 2025. Playing for the defending champions South Zone, he scored a crucial 57 and 16 not out in the first semi-final against the North Zone in Bengaluru. Notably, the South Zone won on first innings to advance to the Final, but failed to lift back-to-back titles after a six-wicket defeat against the Central zone.
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The youngster has featured in only two red-ball matches and scored 90 runs since his debut in the home Test series against England in March 2024. However, Padikkal has 2,888 runs in 44 First-Class matches at an average of 41.85, including six hundreds and 18 fifty-plus scores to his name.
Backed by these exceptional stats and the recent run of form, the southpaw would hope to be part of the Indian squad that will take on Roston Chase and Co. in the upcoming two Test matches, starting on October 2. The 25-year-old would get another chance to strengthen his comeback chances in the following fixture against Australia A, which will commence on September 26.
However, his chances of claiming a spot in the playing XI seem to be low. Previously, the batter had played in the spots of No.3 and No.4 in his limited appearances. But after a decent debut Test tour in England, youngster Sai Sudharsan has also consolidated his place at No.3 with a gritty 73-run knock in the ongoing India A fixture. Moreover, the recently appointed Test captain, Shubman Gill, is also set to continue at No.4 after a record-breaking showdown in the recent India vs England five-match series.
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