Devdutt Padikkal looks to carry Karnataka captaincy lessons into India A role

Devdutt Padikkal will lead India A in two Multi-Day matches against Australia A, with the first game scheduled for September 22 to 25 in Puducherry and the second from September 29 to October 2. The 26-year-old has been appointed captain following his recent success in India's Test series against Sri Lanka, where he was named player of the series after scoring 328 runs at number three. Sai Sudarshan will serve as vice-captain for the series.

Padikkal took over as Karnataka's Ranji Trophy captain in 2025-26

and has since gained valuable experience leading a domestic side. During his captaincy tenure, he demonstrated his ability to perform under pressure, scoring 120 not out off 85 balls as an opener in a fourth-innings chase of 250 in 28 overs against Punjab in Mohali. He also produced a career-best 232 from number three against Uttarakhand in the semi-final in Lucknow, earning the Player-of-the-Match award in that contest.

"Definitely, it's a great opportunity to be the captain of India A side. I'm looking forward to it. I think leadership is something that I really enjoy doing, especially starting off with Karnataka last year. It was a great learning curve for me, so I'm really looking forward to carrying that experience to India A set-up as well," said Padikkal as quoted by Cricinfo.

"Captaincy is just an added responsibility to go out there and make sure that I'm helping the side. I've always played cricket that way. I've always wanted to make sure that the team wins. As a captain, that's your sole focus. You want to make the team win. That just helps my batting even further," he added.

Padikkal established himself in India's Test middle order after Sudharsan suffered an injury, scoring consecutive centuries during the Sri Lanka tour. His recent performance in the Duleep Trophy final at Chepauk on September 11 saw him score 62 before being dismissed by Mukesh Kumar. The appointment to lead India A represents the next step in his development as both a batter and leader.

Padikkal's domestic captaincy has provided him with practical experience in leading a team through competitive matches. His performances as Karnataka captain demonstrated his ability to balance personal batting form with leadership responsibilities, scoring heavily while guiding his side through important fixtures.

The 26-year-old has made conscious adjustments against spin, displaying a willingness to play off the back foot. Padikkal and Sudharsan, who will now serve as his deputy in the Australia A series, play most lengths including fuller deliveries from spinners off the back foot and have made this approach work effectively. In the Duleep final, Padikkal preferred to stay back to fullish deliveries from East Zone offspinner Md Kounain Quraishi and created scoring opportunities, staying true to his strengths.

"I think that [playing off the back foot] comes naturally [to me]. I think that's a technical thing that some batsmen prefer to play more on the back foot. For me personally, I don't see it as a risk and it's part of my game. It's something that I've done my whole career. It's not something different for me. For someone who is not used to playing at the back foot much, that might seem as a risk. But at the end of the day, those are things that you have to continue to adapt," said Padikkal.

"There will be things in your game that you have to make sure that you are not letting them [opposition] expose it. I think you have to keep working on it, keep trying and make sure that those small shortcomings that you may have... you have to make sure how you can adapt with it and manage that as well," he added.

Padikkal acknowledged the importance of managing weaknesses while maintaining his natural game. The left-handed batter also put in long shifts in the slip cordon as East Zone amassed more than 1,000 runs across two innings and went on to secure the title on the basis of their first-innings lead.

"It takes a lot of hard work to go through the domestic grind. There's a lot of high-quality cricket going on in the domestic circuit. I think it's not always noticed, but you can see that. Especially when you look at Duleep Trophy, the amount of quality that is there and the talent that is there. I think there is a lot of hard work that goes in day in day out to make sure that you are constantly performing after every game," said Padikkal.

"You play almost 11 games a year in the Ranji Trophy to get to the finals. So, doing that is not very easy and it takes a lot of effort and a lot of commitment to what you're doing. At the end of the day, when that gets noticed and you get picked for the [national] side, it's a really gratifying experience," he concluded.