As per reports, Devdutt Padikkal will make his India debut in the fifth Test at Dharamshala
With a slew of injuries and omissions, Team India is now likely to hand a Test debut to batsman Devdutt Padikkal in the fifth match against England, beginning March 7 in Dharamshala. With KL Rahul still not fully fit from his prolonged quad injury, the chances of him playing in the last Test are rather slim.
In fact, Rahul had gone to the UK a couple of days ago to get clarity on his injury. Now, as per a report in the Hindustan Times, the wicketkeeper batsman is all but out of contention.
A debut for Padikkal is also on the cards since Rajat Patidar, another keeper-batsman in the team, has failed miserably in the three Tests he has played. He has scored 32, 9, 5, 0, 17, and 0 in the six innings so far, for an average of 10. On the other hand, Padikkal has shown that he has the game to score runs in red-ball cricket.
He churned out consistent performances for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy and then India A against the England Lions. In the last FC matches, he has four tons, including a ton against the England Lions too.