MUMBAI: In the last Test that India played, against England in March, Devdutt Padikkal batted at No.4 and scored 65, while Sarfaraz Khan batted at No.5 and smashed 56.

The platform for India’s big total was set by the fine top-order batting of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. But Padikkal and Sarfaraz had a job on hand to ensure that India don’t have to bat again after having lost the toss.

As always, the Dharamsala pitch had some juice in it and batting in the fourth innings, with the wear and tear on offer, is never easy. Both were quite new to the Test stage — it was 24-year-old Padikkal’s debut and 26-year-old Sarfaraz’s third Test. The two youngsters, though, showed the maturity needed and went about their job in impressive fashion. They shared a 97-run partnership for the fourth wicket to take the total past 400 and provide their bowlers enough runs to complete an innings win.

Padikkal dealt with the nerves well while Sarfaraz got a third half-century in as many Tests. Their impressive knocks came against a quality bowling attack that included the legendary swing bowler James Anderson, the fiery Mark Wood, and lanky spinners Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley who were both extracting good bounce.

Apart from the two, there was another youngster who made a massive impact in the series – Dhruv Jurel. The 23-year-old keeper-batter had single-handedly won India the fourth Test at Ranchi with innings of 90 and 39 not out to be named the man of the match.

The three ticked most of the boxes for the selectors to be convinced they are future prospects; from all indication, they will hold key positions in India’s batting line-up in the coming years.

But such is the competition for places that despite the promising start to their Test careers, each of them faces a tough new season which starts with Duleep Trophy action from Thursday. With star players Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant set to return to the Test side in the series against Bangladesh, the three have to make every opportunity count to keep pushing their cases for a regular place in the playing XI.

Sarfaraz is part of Team B in Duleep Trophy, which also includes Pant. They will play against Team C at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Jurel is part of Team A which also has KL Rahul and they will take on Team D, which has Padikkal, at the Rural Development Trust Stadium in Anantapur.

Among the three, Sarfaraz should at least make the squad for the Bangladesh series as a back-up in the middle-order. If the selectors pick a back-up keeper, Jurel will also be around. Padikkal might to have to wait more for his chances. The left-hander had earned his Test selection by powering to 556 runs (average 92.66) in six Ranji Trophy innings in 2023-24, including three hundreds. A similar start to the 2024-25 season will keep him in the mix.

The big series of the season is going to be the Australia tour. And, the Duleep Trophy is important for all three to strengthen their case for selection for the marquee contest. The three proved their game against spin bowling in the home series against England. The quality of bowling attacks in the Duleep Trophy is better than Ranji Trophy, and the conditions are also expected to help pace. It will thus be an ideal opportunity to show their skills against the moving ball. The pitch at Anantapur has extra bounce and this being the start of the season, the pacers should enjoy the freshness of the M Chinnaswamy pitch too.

If they fare well in testing conditions in the season opener, all three should surely figure in the shortlist of players for the India A tour of Australia in November. That will be another chance for them to stake a claim in the playing XI of the senior team.

Overall, the three will go into the domestic season in a confident frame of mind having showed the potential to be future India Test players. For now, they will have to show some patience. The challenge for them is to keep their motivation up.

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