In-form Devdutt Padikkal said he was not expecting to get an ODI call-up after Rishabh Pant was ruled out of the series against New Zealand. Dhruv Jurel was named as the backup wicket-keeper after Pant’s injury. 

Meanwhile, Padikkal has been in red-hot form in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. Padikkal has scored 721 runs in eight matches of the ongoing domestic tournament at a stunning average of 103 and a strike rate of 100.28 and has played a key role in taking Karnataka to the semis.

Furthermore, Ayush Badoni replaced injured Washington Sundar for the last two games of the series against Kiwis.

“At the end of the day, that is not something in my control. All I can do is go out there and score runs. It is very easy to get distracted by things like selection, but I just want to go out there and score runs. Rishabh is a wicketkeeper, and when he gets injured, obviously, a backup wicketkeeper gets picked, so I wasn’t really expecting to get that call,” Padikkal said on InsideSport’s YouTube channel.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka batter gave credit to RCB assistant coach Dinesh Karthik for helping him improve his game.

He said, “DK, being someone who has been playing up until recently at the highest level, especially in T20 cricket as well, his tactical knowledge as to trying to understand what the opposition is doing against you, was something that I really took from him, and he continued to make sure I was aware each time I went out to bat. Having that knowledge and awareness about other teams’ plans gave me a clear picture.”

Padikkal scored 247 runs in 10 matches of IPL 2025 at a strike rate of 150.60.