NEW DELHI: Devdutt Padikkal has done everything to merit a call-up to the national ODI team, yet his name continues to be missing from the squad. The left-handed batter was overlooked for the upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand at home despite being in sublime form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
However, Padikkal remains unfazed by the repeated snubs from the national ODI setup, admitting that the competition is extremely tough with several batters ahead of him performing exceptionally well.
"I wouldn't say it was disappointing. Yes, I was looking at the selection and seeing what would come out. But at the same time, I understood that there are so many batters in the line and everyone has been doing really well," Padikkal told Indian Express.
Devdutt Padikkal on a rampage, becomes first batter to achieve this Vijay Hazare Trophy record
"And it's not that easy to push into that one-day side. And again, that's something that, as cricketers, you have to make peace with. And you have to just try and do your job and keep scoring runs," he added.
Padikkal also expressed his gratitude to the RCB support staff, singling out Dinesh Karthik and head coach Andy Flower for their role in helping him refine his game and get the best out of his abilities.
"To be honest, all the credit for that goes to DK (Dinesh Karthik) and Andy (Flower) at RCB. The way they helped me through that phase and helped me understand how I can maximise my game in the T20 format helped me a lot in terms of understanding what I needed to do," he said.
The Karnataka batter created history by becoming the first player to score 600-plus runs in three different editions of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, achieving the milestone during his 91-run knock off 82 balls against Rajasthan in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
He has so far slammed four centuries in the tournament, scoring 147 against Jharkhand, 124 versus Kerala, 113 against Puducherry, and 108 versus Tripura. He endured a rare failure against Tamil Nadu, getting out for 22.
