India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I: Virender Sehwag feels Devdutt Padikkal would be ideal replacement for Shikhar Dhawan in future- Former India swashbuckling batsman Virender Sehwag lauded Devdutt Padikkal for his IPL heroics. He said that the left-handed batsman would be the right replacement for Shikhar Dhawan in the future and expects him to come good in the series decider.
“I really want to see him perform because the way he played a couple of innings, struck a century in the IPL, we saw some brilliant batting. When Shikhar Dhawan goes, he would be the right replacement for him. The only thing is that I want these Indian youngsters to first get opportunities in the sub-continent, because then when he goes to England, Australia or South Africa, there is confidence behind him,” Sehwag said to Cricbuzz.
India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I: Virender Sehwag feels Devdutt Padikkal would be ideal replacement for Shikhar Dhawan in future
Even though Padikkal was not among the runs in India’s second T20I loss, he impressed with his batting approach. He had scored 29 off 23 balls with a four and six. Sehwag feels that the conditions in Sri Lanka are likely to benefit the youngster.
“If he performs, it will help his confidence and he can be a future star. He has that talent based on what I’ve seen in his batting. There’s no better thing than him getting an opportunity against Sri Lanka. The wickets will be flat, there will be no swing or seam. He just needs to keep a little bit of patience and needs to be careful with his shot selection. It shouldn’t be tough for him to score runs,” he added.
Notably, Devdutt Padikkal is the first from the country to make India’s debut among 21st century born cricketers.
The Cricketer-turned-expert added that getting some runs under his belt will also help him in the IPL 2021 Phase 2 in Dubai. The latter had slammed a ton for RCB in the first leg of IPL 2021. He is expected to help RCB win the maiden IPL title.
India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I: Virender Sehwag feels Devdutt Padikkal would be ideal replacement for Shikhar Dhawan in future
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