Devdutt Padikkal shines in Vijay Hazare Trophy with his excellence performanceImage Source - Social Media

Devdutt Padikkal Leads Karnataka To Final In Vijay Hazare Trophy, Eyes ICC Champions Trophy Spot

Devdutt Padikkal's Consistency Key in Karnataka's Victory, Aims for ICC Champions Trophy

Published on:

16 Jan 2025, 2:56 am

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will select the squad of India for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy after the finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Amongst all these, the player who is emerging as a strong contender for the tournament is Devdutt Padikkal. He played a key role in Karnataka's win in the semi-final against Haryana, scoring 86 runs off 113 balls at a strike rate of 76.11. This was his 7th consecutive 50+ score in the tournament; however, he missed his well-deserved century.

Karnataka's way of chasing the target of 238 started on a bad note after they lost the wicket of skipper Mayank Agarwal in the first over itself. But Devdutt Padikkal (86) and Smaran Ravichandran (76) played a key role in achieving the target at a loss of 5 wickets. By winning the match against Haryana by 5 wickets, Karnataka has now secured their place in the finals. Padikkal played his second game in the tournament after he returned from the tour of Australia. In the game against Baroda, he smashed a century, scoring 102 runs, and scoring 86 in the recent match against Haryana.

Devdutt Padikkal smashes a century on his debut match against EnglandImage Source - Social Media

The southpaw crosses 2000 runs in List A cricket, having an average of 82.38, which is the highest among batters who have crossed the mark of 2000 runs. On the other hand, the Indian star cricketer and his RCB teammate Virat Kohli have an average of 57.05. The thing did not end; he went forward of Ruturaj Gaikwad (58.16), Michael Bevan (57.86), and AB de Villiers (53.47).

The 24-year-old made his Test debut against England on March 9, 2024, proving his worth by scoring a fifty in his debut match, having the highest score of 65 runs in a Test. Paidkkal also got a chance in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in the Perth Test in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. But he could not make the best of this opportunity, scoring 0 and 25 runs in Perth. Now, things look different, and he appears to be a strong contender in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

BCCI