India have finally found its long-term number three batter in Test cricket after Devdutt Padikkal showed his batting talent against Sri Lanka. The 26-year-old began with scores of 167 and 44 in Galle and was named the Player of the Match. He followed it up with a knock of 117 in the second Test.

Former opening batter Aakash Chopra said that Padikkal’s form has lessened Sai Sudharsan’s chances of making it back to the side. The Chennai-based cricketer was ruled out of the tour after he failed to recover from the toe injury.

The 48-year-old took to his YouTube channel and said, “Padikkal is batting really well and is a gun player. Devdutt has already done more than what Sudharsan did in the chances given to him so far. He has scored successive tons and has been in great form. It means that Sai will have to sit out and won’t get a spot on his return to the team.”

Sai batter made his Test debut in the Headingley Test last year. The 24-year-old has done well in the chances given to him but hasn’t managed to score a ton. He amassed 81 runs in the one-off Test match against Afghanistan.

Padikkal, on the other hand, made it easy for the selectors with his knock of 142 not out in the three-day game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI.

Aakash Chopra praises batter for seamless transition

Chopra praised the southpaw’s ability to switch from T20 to Test cricket mode. “Padikkal has shown that a modern-day batter can play red-ball cricket as well as T20 cricket. He formed key stands with Virat Kohli while playing for RCB, where his strike-rate was better than the star batter. He has easily switched into Test mode.”

Indian selectors will have a huge task on their hands when they pick the team for the New Zealand series. Shubman Gill‘s squad has to win the series with a 2-0 margin to keep their hopes of making it to the WTC finals alive, and Devdutt Padikkal may be one of the players to watch out for.