Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Subramaniam Badrinath has heaped praise on India’s No.3 batter Devdutt Padikkal, who scored an excellent century in the first innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
Notably, India secured a whopping 165-run win in the first Test to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Badrinath asserted that Padikkal could be a multi-format player, like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar.
“Multi-format players are very rare in this era. There are not many a lot actually, and he is one of the few. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Sachin- these were all multi-format players. Devdutt also ticks that box,” Badrinath said in a video on his YouTube channel.
For the unversed, Padikkal scored 211 runs across two innings (167 and 44), hitting his maiden Test century and earning Player of the Match honours. Moreover, he stitched a crucial 150-run partnership with KL Rahul during the first innings to turn the tide in India’s favour.
Padikkal had a stellar 2025–26 domestic season where he took over as Karnataka’s captain and led them to the Ranji Trophy final. He scored 543 runs from six games at an average of 60.33 with two hundreds during the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season.
“Padikkal is impressing me day by day. Why I say this is because, by his performances in first-class cricket, he has earned his place. He already played a Test, failed, and was dropped. It is not easy to come back into the Indian team. He has literally earned his place rightfully so,” he added.
The second Test match between India and Sri Lanka starts on Sunday, August 23 at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground in Colombo.
