Devdutt Padikkal has been appointed as the captain of India A for the upcoming four-day series against Australia A, set to take place in Puducherry. This role marks a significant step in Padikkal’s leadership journey as he prepares to lead the team in these crucial matches.
Padikkal to Lead India A After Successful Karnataka Tenure
Karnataka’s captain, Padikkal, will make his debut as captain of India A following his impactful leadership during the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. He assumed the captaincy in the latter stages of the league and demonstrated strong performance both with the bat and ball.
Reflecting on his experience, Padikkal emphasized the valuable lessons he learned while leading Karnataka, expressing a desire to apply this knowledge in his new role with India A.
Despite the result, Padikkal said he enjoys taking responsibility and believes captaincy can help him perform better with the bat. “Definitely, it’s a wonderful opportunity to be the captain of India A side. I’m excited for it. It was a great learning curve for me, so I’m really looking forward to carrying that experience to India A set-up as well,” Padikkal was quoted as saying by Cricinfo. Padikkal’s appointment comes after a strong run in red-ball cricket. He recently returned to the India Test side and scored centuries in successive Tests against Sri Lanka.
I think leadership is something that I really enjoy doing, especially starting off with Karnataka last year.
That just helps my batting even further,” he said. “Captaincy is just an added responsibility to go out there and make sure that I’m helping the side. I’ve always played cricket that way. I’ve always wanted to ensure that the team wins. As a captain, that’s your sole focus. You want to make the team win.
