Devdutt Padikkal has taken away, at least for now, the No. 3 spot that Gautam Gambhir and the Indian team management had strongly backed Sai Sudharsan for.
And what a way to do it.
A brilliant century against Sri Lanka. A fluent innings against spin. A hundred in the warm-up match followed by another hundred when the actual Test began.
Padikkal did not need seven Tests to make his point.
He got his opportunity and grabbed it.
Gambhir must obviously be happy because an Indian batter has scored a century and put the team in a strong position. But somewhere inside, this innings should also force him to question whether India backed the right man at No. 3 for so long.
Because Padikkal has now made the debate very uncomfortable for the team management.
Padikkal’s Century Has Exposed the No. 3 Selection Debate
For months, the Indian team management continued to back Sai Sudharsan.
The argument was always about talent and potential.
There is nothing wrong with identifying talent. Every team needs to back young players.
But what about the players who are actually scoring runs in domestic cricket?
What about players who have spent years proving that they can build long innings?
That is where the selection debate becomes difficult to ignore.
When Sudharsan made his Test debut against England at Headingley in June 2025, he had played 29 first-class matches and scored 1,957 runs at an average of 39.93, including seven centuries.
Those are respectable numbers.
But were they so extraordinary that India needed to keep other proven domestic performers waiting?
That is the real question.
Maiden International Century for Devdutt Padikkal 💯
Padikkal smashed century in first Test vs Sri Lanka batting at no. 3 🏏
📷: SonyLiv pic.twitter.com/wW4MlGR6Gw
— CricInformer (@CricInformer) August 15, 2026
Padikkal’s Numbers Make the Debate Even More Interesting
Now look at Devdutt Padikkal.
His current first-class record stands at 3,800 runs from 56 matches at an average of 43.18, with nine centuries and 21 fifties.
Good numbers.
But his List A record is on another level altogether.
Padikkal has scored 2,796 runs from 42 List A matches at an average of 82.23, with 13 centuries and 14 half-centuries.
An average above 82 after more than 40 matches is not a small sample.
During the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Padikkal once again piled up runs and forced people to talk about his case. At one stage of the competition, he had 640 runs from seven matches at an average above 91, with four centuries.
So, this is not a player who suddenly appeared from nowhere and scored one international hundred.
The runs were already there.
The question is why India took so long to properly reward them.
Why Was Sai Sudharsan Given Such a Long Rope?
This is where Gautam Gambhir and the team management deserve questions.
Sudharsan was backed through difficult periods because the management clearly believed he had something special.
Fine.
But backing cannot become endless.
At some stage, runs have to matter.
Sudharsan’s technique came under scrutiny during the England tour. Even before his Test debut, former Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni had publicly raised questions about whether his technique was ready for English Test conditions.
The struggles did not completely disappear after that.
Still, the message from the management remained clear: Sai Sudharsan was their No. 3.
That is exactly why Padikkal’s innings should hurt this selection policy.
Because another player has walked into the same position and immediately shown what he can offer.
Domestic Cricket Cannot Be Ignored for Preference
This is the bigger issue.
Indian cricket cannot become a system where one player is preferred because the management likes his potential while another player keeps scoring runs in domestic cricket and waits outside.
First-class cricket has to mean something.
Sarfaraz Khan has been one of the biggest examples of this debate.
Padikkal is another.
A first-class average does not guarantee Test success. Cricket is not that simple.
But if a player repeatedly scores hundreds in domestic cricket, that tells you something important: he knows how to construct an innings.
He knows how to bat for long periods.
He knows how to convert starts.
He understands red-ball cricket.
These things should matter when you are selecting a Test batter.
Padikkal Got His Chance and Immediately Made Gambhir Think
Sai Sudharsan’s injury created the opportunity.
Padikkal took it with both hands.
Before the Test even started, he scored a century in the warm-up match.
Then came Galle.
Padikkal walked in at No. 3 and produced his maiden Test hundred, reaching the landmark from 134 balls. He eventually finished Day 1 unbeaten on 131 from 178 deliveries.
That is how you put pressure on the team management.
No interviews.
No complaints.
No noise.
Just runs.
Gambhir backed Sai Sudharsan.
Padikkal answered with a hundred.
Now Gambhir has a decision to make.
The Difference in Fluency Was Impossible to Ignore
Watch Padikkal bat against spin and the most impressive thing is his fluency.
He does not look stuck.
He has the sweep.
He can use his feet.
He can play from the crease.
He can go forward and back.
Most importantly, he continues looking for runs.
That is what stood out in Galle.
Padikkal did not bat like someone scared of losing his place.
He batted like someone who knew he belonged there.
And that is where the comparison with Sudharsan becomes uncomfortable.
Sudharsan has often looked like he is still trying to work out how he wants to score consistently in Test cricket.
Padikkal looked far clearer.
One innings does not settle who is the better Test batter forever.
But right now, there is no debate over who looks more in form.
It is Padikkal.
Sai Sudharsan Had a Sub-40 First-Class Average When India Handed Him No. 3
This statistic deserves attention because it goes directly to the selection debate.
When Sudharsan walked out for his Test debut at Headingley, his first-class numbers were:
29 matches, 1,957 runs, average 39.93, seven centuries.
In fact, he became the first Indian top-order batter in more than three decades to make his Test debut with a first-class average below 40.
Again, that does not mean Sudharsan did not deserve consideration.
Statistics are not the only factor in selection.
But if you are prepared to overlook stronger domestic records because you believe one player has greater potential, then that player eventually has to justify the faith.
Otherwise, questions will be asked.
And Padikkal has just made those questions louder.
Padikkal Has Done What a Replacement Batter Is Supposed to Do
International cricket can be cruel.
Sometimes a player loses his place because of poor form.
Sometimes he loses it because somebody else grabs an opportunity created by injury.
Sai Sudharsan was unavailable.
Padikkal came in.
And Padikkal scored a hundred.
That changes everything.
You cannot now simply say, “Sai is fit again, so Padikkal goes out.”
Why?
What more was Padikkal supposed to do?
He scored a century in the warm-up game.
He then scored another century in the Test.
He looked comfortable at No. 3.
He handled spin.
He scored at a healthy rate.
He put India in control.
If performance is the basis of selection, Padikkal has earned another match.
Gambhir Must Now Reward Performance, Not Preference
This is the lesson Gautam Gambhir should take from this innings.
Back your players, absolutely.
But do not become so attached to one choice that another player’s performances become secondary.
Competition is healthy.
If Sai Sudharsan scores runs, play him.
If Padikkal scores more runs, play Padikkal.
It should be that simple.
A place in India’s Test team cannot become anybody’s permanent property because the coach or team management sees special potential in him.
The player who performs should stay.
Right now, that player is Devdutt Padikkal.
DDP Has Taken the No. 3 Chair — Sai Must Win It Back
For now, the No. 3 chair belongs to Devdutt Padikkal.
Sai Sudharsan should not walk straight back into it.
If Padikkal fails repeatedly, the debate can reopen.
If Sudharsan goes back, scores heavily and forces his way into the team, give him another opportunity.
That is how international cricket should work.
But dropping Padikkal after what he has just done would send a terrible message to every player scoring runs in domestic cricket.
What else do you want from a player?
He waited.
He scored domestically.
He got his opportunity.
He scored in the warm-up.
Then he walked into a Test at No. 3 and smashed a century.
Padikkal could hardly have done more.
Padikkal Has Given Gambhir a Selection Lesson
This is why this hundred was bigger than just another individual milestone.
It was a reminder.
Domestic performances matter.
First-class cricket matters.
Current form matters.
And when somebody gets an opportunity and delivers, reputation or preference should not push him back to the bench.
Gautam Gambhir and the Indian team management strongly backed Sai Sudharsan.
Now Devdutt Padikkal has forced them to reconsider that backing.
Sai remains talented. He can return. He can improve. He can score hundreds and make his own case again.
But he should have to earn that No. 3 spot back.
Because Padikkal has taken it through the only argument that really matters in cricket:
Runs.
For now, write Devdutt Padikkal’s name on India’s No. 3 spot.
He has earned it.