A primer on Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana

Hemant Brar20-Nov-20242:21

Manjrekar’s XI: Abhimanyu to open, Jurel at No.3

Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal got column inches in Hindi and Punjabi in Australian newspapers. But what about some of the lesser-known players in the Indian side? Here is a primer on four of them who could feature in the first Test in Perth.Devdutt PadikkalPadikkal, 24, is a tall left-hand batter who plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket. He was not part of the original squad but a thumb injury to Shubman Gill has opened the door for him. He made his Test debut against England in Dharamsala in March and scored 65 from No. 4 in India’s only innings. He is yet to play another Test but has plenty of domestic experience. He has played 40 first-class games and scored 2677 runs at an average of 42.49. While he has batted everywhere from No. 1 to No. 6, his best has come at No. 3: 1247 runs at 51.95 and four of his six hundreds. It bodes well for India as he is likely to bat one-down if Gill is unavailable.Related

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Recent form: In September, Padikkal struck three half-centuries in three Duleep Trophy games with a best of 92. However, in the other three innings, he was dismissed for single-digit scores. More recently, he was India A’s highest run-getter against Australia A. He scored 151 runs in four innings, a patient 88 in the second innings in Mackay being the standout knock.Training watch: Padikkal spent considerable time in the nets on Tuesday and Wednesday. He looked good, in particular, when he had a chance to go on the front foot and play check-drives. During the fielding drills, he was part of the slip cordon.Dhruv Jurel is a frontrunner for the No. 6 spot in Perth•AFPDhruv JurelLike his father, Jurel wanted to join the army before he fell in love with cricket. He first made headlines by scoring 249 for Uttar Pradesh against Nagaland in Ranji Trophy 2022-23. But it was his exploits as a finisher for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023 that put him in the reckoning for the national team. Earlier this year, in only his second Test, he scored 90 and 39 not out against England in Ranchi and bagged the Player-of-the-Match award. In all, he has played 21 first-class games and scored 1223 runs at an average of 48.92.Recent form: In the only Duleep Trophy game he played, Jurel scored 2 and 0 but was impressive behind the stumps, taking eight catches across two innings. He then made 93 against Mumbai in the Irani Cup. But it was his performance against Australia A that helped him jump the queue. He looked the best batter across both sides during his 80 and 68 in the second unofficial Test in Melbourne. Supposed to be a back-up for Rishabh Pant, he is now being considered as a pure batter in the lower middle order ahead of Sarfaraz Khan.Training watch: Like Padikkal, Jurel too practised with the first set of batters on Tuesday and stood either in slips or at gully while fielding. He had another long stint with the bat on Wednesday, which was centred around playing close to the body and dulling the threat of back-of-a-length bowling.Nitish Kumar Reddy has got the backing of the team management•Getty ImagesNitish Kumar ReddyAt 21, Reddy is the youngest member of India’s squad. A seam-bowling allrounder from Andhra Pradesh, Reddy made his first-class debut in 2019-20 but his numbers in the format do not exude much confidence. After 23 games, he has 779 runs at an average of 21.05 and 56 wickets at 26.98. He is in the side because of his potential and T20 performances. Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024, he scored 303 runs at a strike rate of 142.92 and took three wickets. It resulted in a T20I debut for India in October. In his second T20I, he smashed 74 off 34 balls and took 2 for 23. Can he translate that into red-ball cricket?Recent form: The signs have not been great. In three of the four innings against Australia A, he was bounced out three times. With the ball, he took just one wicket from 31 overs. But he has the backing of the team management. On Wednesday, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel said he could hold one end up as a fourth seamer with his wicket-to-wicket bowling.Training watch: Reddy bowled a lot on Tuesday, something he may have to do if he debuts during this tour. On Wednesday, his ramp shot was a chef’s kiss.Will Harshit Rana get a chance?•Getty ImagesHarshit RanaUncapped Rana, who will turn 23 next month, is another seam-bowling allrounder in the Indian side. If Reddy’s stronger suit is batting, Rana’s is bowling. He can bowl fast, hit the deck hard, and has pace variations. His IPL franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, identified his talent before his domestic side, Delhi. He was the joint-fourth-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2024 and played a key role in KKR lifting the trophy. In ten first-class games, he has 43 wickets at 24.00 and 469 runs at 42.63. He has also scored a hundred in the format – an unbeaten 122 off just 86 balls that included nine sixes, albeit it came against a weak North-East Zone side.Recent form: He picked up two four-wicket hauls in two games in the Duleep Trophy and followed it with a fifty and a five-for against Assam in the Ranji Trophy. He was not part of the red-ball series against Australia A but, in his own words, the attitude he plays with is “similar to Australia’s”.Training watch: Rana did not bowl much on Tuesday but was a lot more involved on Wednesday. It is easy to see the logic behind India having him here. He puts a lot of effort behind the ball and, on a responsive pitch, is likely to get a lot of it back.