Three Seasons With 600-Plus Runs; Devdutt Padikkal Achieves Unique Feat In Vijay Hazare Trophy

Hyderabad: Devdutt Padikkal’s snub from the ODI side in the team for the upcoming series against New Zealand hasn’t harmed his purple patch, and the left-handed batter amassed another fifty-plus score in the Vijay Hazare Trophy match. Despite missing out on his fifth century of the edition during the match against Rajasthan at the Gujarat College Ground in Ahmedabad, the left-handed batter etched his name in the record books, scripting a unique feat.

He scored 91 runs and was dismissed while facing Manav Suthar. The left-handed batter has 13 centuries in 34 innings and only a few - Maharashtra’s Ankeet Bawane (15 in 99 matches) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (14 in 57 matches). Padikkal has accumulated more than 600 runs across six innings.

The left-hander made his List A debut for the state side in 2018 and has gone on to become one of the consistent performers in the tournament. He racked up 609 runs in 11 innings in the 2019-20 edition, which was only his second stint in the tournament. He then went on to score 737 runs across eight innings in the 2020-21 edition, smacking four consecutive centuries on his way. Now, with 600 runs in six innings this season, the 25-year-old has become the first batter to score 600 runs in three seasons of the VHT.

Padikkal’s List A average is magnificent. He has scored with an average of 83.62 from 38 innings, which is the highest by any batter who has scored at least 2000 runs in the format. In the mentioned criteria, Ruturaj has a 57.69 average, while Virat Kohli boasts an average of 57.67 while scoring more than 16000 List A runs.

Despite his stellar form in the ongoing season, Padikkal was overlooked by the selectors while naming the squad for the series against New Zealand starting from January 11 in Baroda. He has played only two 50-over matches for India A and three innings in the Deodhar Trophy in 2023.