KL Rahul hails Devdutt Padikkal after maiden Test century

India vice-captain KL Rahul praised Devdutt Padikkal after the left-hander hit his maiden Test century, a 167 against Sri Lanka. Rahul called the achievement special, while stressing preparation, teamwork and the need to remain focused as conditions become tougher.

Galle: Having watched Devdutt Padikkal rise through the ranks in the Karnataka set-up, India vice-captain KL Rahul expressed immense pride at the young left-handed batter hitting his 167 – his maiden Test century coming against Sri Lanka, something which he called ‘very special’.

Batting at number three, Padikkal’s magnificent knock was laced with 15 fours and a six, as India made 460/9 in 116 overs at the end of day two’s play. “Very special – obviously coming from the same state, Dev is somebody that I’ve seen come through the ranks from under-19s and scored runs for Karnataka and make his way up to Indian cricket.

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“In the last couple of years he’s been waiting for his opportunity and quietly toiling in the nets and trying to get better at some aspects of his batting,” Rahul said in a video posted on bcci.tv. on Monday.

Rahul revealed that regular interactions with Padikkal also helped the left-hander prepare for the specific demands of Test cricket in the subcontinent. “We’ve had a lot of chats over the last couple of years that he’s been with the team as to what needs to get better or what to expect in Sri Lanka, what to expect in the Test matches to come and he’s one of those players who’s come here before, scored some runs in India A as well. So just getting used to the condition, he scored 100 in the warm-up game as well.

“He’s been amongst runs, he’s someone who loves batting and scoring big runs and I’m really happy that he could get the first hundred and that’s really special for everybody and very important to get that early in your career so you can get that out of the way and then start enjoying your cricket and start enjoying your batting and take your batting to the next level.

“I think he’s at a stage where he understands his batting really well and he’s scoring lots of runs so I think he’ll make that move into scoring bigger knocks for India and being more consistent,” he added.

Turning to his own solid contribution of 82, Rahul outlined the technical adjustments and background preparation required to tackle spin on Sri Lankan pitches. “When you’re scoring a place like Sri Lanka, where spin is going to play a very big role, you need to get your game plans right, you need to tighten up some technical aspects of your game and also understand what areas of the ground you can score in.

“So I’ve been here before, and I knew what to expect, and I’ve watched the last few series that have been played here – so picked up a few things from there and then just sat down and figured what I need to do and how I can give myself the best chance to perform in Sri Lanka and to play well against spin,” he added.

Despite the strong start to the tour, Rahul warned against complacency, noting that conditions would become increasingly demanding for the batters as the series progresses. “More or less like for any other country you visit, you need to figure out how you want to play and what gives you the best chance.

“So I did that and I’m really happy with how I could play in the first innings. There are a few more innings to go in this series, so I think it will only get harder and harder from here on. So it’s important to keep your head down and keep trusting the game plan,” he added.

Rahul also pointed to the open, collaborative environment in the Indian dressing room and the crucial role played by India ‘A’ shadow tours in grooming younger players for overseas challenges.

“When I’ve been part of this dressing room before as well for so many years, it’s always been a place where everyone’s trying to learn from each other, everyone’s trying to help each other out and we try and work together on the areas that we all need to get better at as a team.

“It’s because at the end of the day when you perform as a team that’s when we can win series outside of India and also in India to win Test matches and to win Test, series you need to play together as a team – so it’s important that we help each other out.

“I’ve enjoyed doing that – some of the guys coming here for the first time, some of them have also been lucky to come here a month before and played a few India A games to just understand how the pitches play and they played against some of their bowlers as well.

“So it’s given them a good idea of what to expect, and they’re prepared really well. I’ve just played a very small part in helping some of the guys, but the guys who know what to do have prepared really well and gone out there and done the job,” he concluded.