Devdutt Padikkal creates unique record, becomes first player born in 21st century to represent India
Grabbing this opportunity, Devdutt Padikkal became the first player born in the 21st century to play international men's cricket for India. He scored 29 off 23 balls on his debut against Sri Lanka.
New Delhi: India played the second T20I against Sri Lanka yesterday. In a low-scoring match, Lanka won the match in the last over. In a big blow just before the second match, the team India has to face a complicated scenario as Krunal Pandya was detected COVID positive. Players who were in close contact with Pandya have to be isolated which created an opportunity for the new players to jump in.
Grabbing this opportunity, Devdutt Padikkal became the first player born in the 21st century to play international men’s cricket for India. He scored 29 off 23 balls on his debut against Sri Lanka.
With his inclusion in playing XI for the match, Padikkal created a unique record as he became the first man to feature in an international match for India among the players born in the 21st century. Devdutt was born in 2000 and turned 21 on July 7.
Devdutt Padikkal joined Dhawan in the middle and both batters found it tough to rotate the strike. However, in the 11th over, Padikkal broke the shackles as he dispatched Dhananjaya de Silva for a massive six. However, the 32-run stand between these two batters finally ended in the 13th over as Akila Dananjaya clean bowled Dhawan (40), reducing India to 81/2.
Devdutt Padikkal is among the youngest player who has played for team India. Players like Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, and Rahul Chahar made their international debut at lower age but all four were born in 1999.
Padikkal has impressed the selectors with his performance in IPL by scoring 473 runs in 15 matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Zadran was the first player born in the 21st century to debut in a men’s international game in December 2017.