The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) added the young batter Devdutt Padikkal into India's squad for the opening Test match against Australia in Perth. Captain Rohit Sharma and the No.3 Shubman Gill are expected to miss the first match starting on November 22 but Padikkal's late inclusion adds quality to India's batting unit.
Padikkal was asked to stay back in Australia after his stint with India A after Gill suffered a thumb injury during the simulation training game. The left-handed batter scored a big fifty in the first four-day match against Australia and his ability to bat in any position puts him in the ideal position to fill in Gill's position in the playing eleven.
"Devdutt Padikkal has joined the Team India squad," the BCCI statement read. "The left-handed batter shares his experience and excitement of training with the group ahead of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy."
The 24-year-old Karnataka batter made his Test debut against England earlier this year where he scored 65 runs in an innings. Padikkal also registered three fifties in three Duleep Trophy matches for India D to earn a place in the India A squad for the Australia tour.
However, the management is expected to hand a debut to uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran in the first match. KL Rahul is leading the race for the No.3 role but Padikkal's addition adds a much-needed competition for the places in India's playing eleven for the Perth Test.
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.
