In 2021, the then 21-year-old Devdutt Padikkal was not in India’s ODI XI on a white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, but Krishnappa Gowtham, who played his one and only ODI there, remembers him behaving as though he belonged.

“When we were in Sri Lanka together in 2021, he never got an opportunity to play. But his mindset was always switched on throughout the game. He was reading the game. He was thinking, ‘What kind of ball would the bowler bowl if this is the field?’ He was reading the game back then, and he’s reading the game much better now. He was always someone who was into the game. He never drifted away. Even when he’s watching the game, he’s keenly watching it,” Gowtham told .

Five years later, in Galle, that curiosity matured into a maiden Test hundred and the Player of the Match honours in India’s 165-run win over Sri Lanka in the first Test. Padikkal arrived in Sri Lanka well-prepared, with a stronger body and a clearer idea of the cricketer he wanted to become.

Mohammed Naseeruddin, Padikkal’s coach at the Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC), had seen the work put in behind the scenes.

“Before India A’s tour of Sri Lanka, we had a conversation, and he said that wherever I get a chance, whichever number I bat, I have to perform and grab the opportunity,” Naseeruddin told this paper.

After returning from India A’s tour of Sri Lanka, Padikkal told Naseeruddin that Sri Lanka used Kookaburra balls, and the sessions at KIOC changed.

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“He started practising with Kookaburra balls. I think the wickets here (KIOC) are similar to Sri Lankan wickets, so we had to prepare (him for) turning tracks. In Tests, around 70 percent of the attack is spin, so in every session we made sure he faced different varieties of spinners. We had tall spinners, shorter spinners and slightly quicker ones. We also made sure there were two to three left-arm spinners in every session. That was how he prepared. You can see the difference now,” Naseeruddin added.

Mohammed Naseeruddin, Padikkal’s coach at the Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC), had seen the work put in behind the scenes. (Mohammed Naseeruddin)

Footwork became key. “For him, it was more about his footwork and stepping out. If you stand there and play the spinner, it is a little difficult to play the ball. So he was stretching and playing. He was stepping out, driving, and that is what we practised against most of the spinners. If they flight the ball, he can use his feet, get closer to the ball and drive it.

“Early on in the first innings, he hit a six against (Prabath) Jayasuriya. That was just to make sure the field spread. After that, he started building his innings, taking ones and twos and hitting the odd boundary. That is the mark of a mature player,” he said.

Soaring past hurdles

That maturity had been forged through setbacks. Padikkal almost quit playing the game due to health and fitness problems after his debut tour to Sri Lanka in 2021. Gowtham recalled the work that went into him becoming physically fit again.

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“Physically, he has gotten much stronger. There was a point when he almost had to give up cricket, but he fought his way back, regained his fitness and dealt with a lot of issues, including problems with his stomach.

Devdutt Padikkal cdelebrates his maiden Test century on day 1 of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Galle. (BCCI/Creimas Photo)

“He also had to follow a particular diet. He handled all those hurdles really well and fought it out. I feel that shows his mental toughness. And when it comes to the game, he always told me that he wanted to play for the Test team. He loves red-ball cricket more than white-ball cricket,” Gowtham said.

For Naseeruddin, though, the biggest change in Padikkal’s batting came in Mohali earlier this year. Karnataka needed 250 runs in 40 overs against Punjab. Padikkal, leading the side, opened in place of Mayank Agarwal and smashed an unbeaten 120 off 85 balls to take Karnataka into the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.

“The innings he played in the Ranji Trophy match against Punjab in Mohali, where he won the match almost single-handedly, changed his whole batting dynamic,” he said.

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There is also a softer side to the left-hander. “Everyone thinks he is not an easy-going guy. Everyone knows that he is a little shy; he is a little introverted. I have babysat him since he was very young. We have played a lot of cricket together. He likes to be pampered. That is something which I don’t think people know. He likes to be pampered a lot,” Gowtham added.

Padikkal dominated the first innings with 167 runs from 230 balls, using his footwork against spin and manipulating the field. In the second innings, he showed restraint, coming in to bat in the first over and scoring 44 from 75 balls. The two innings, in different ways, showed how much his batting had evolved.

Sai Sudharsan’s injury gave Padikkal the opening. He had waited for 14 Tests and almost two years between his last Test appearance in Perth and this one in Galle. On his Test comeback, Padikkal made a compelling claim for the coveted No. 3 spot.

Number plate

• 1st: Padikkal’s 167 was the first 150+ score by an Indian number-three batsman since Cheteshwar Pujara’s 193 against Australia in Sydney in 2019.