The short turnaround time from the high of winning a controversy-marred Asia Cup notwithstanding, Shubman Gill's India will be outright favourites against a struggling and under-strength West Indies when the teams face-off on a green-top in the first Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Karnataka ended the Ranji Trophy season with a draw against Haryana in their Elite Group C match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Padikkal, who made his Test debut against England earlier this year, will turn up for Team D in the Duleep Trophy, starting from September 5.
Skipper Shubman Gill had a long batting stint while the troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel returned to action for India's final training session here on Wednesday before the first Test against the West Indies.
Pant's gritty fifty keeps India A together in chase of 275
'So make sure first you pick the right characters and then if you see that, try and give them a longer run so that they themselves should be content and happy that they've got a longer run rather than just chopping and changing as well.'
In an interaction with ANI, Padikkal opened up on his goals in the ongoing season, his bond with stalwarts like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers and he also spoke about why he idolises 2011 World Cup-winning hero Gautam Gambhir.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have signed Mayank Agarwal as a replacement for the injured Devdutt Padikkal, while Delhi Capitals (DC) have signed Afghan batter Sediqullah Atal in place of Harry Brook.
K L Rahul is likely to miss Karnataka's Ranji Trophy match against Punjab, starting on Thursday, to continue his recovery from an elbow niggle.
Shreyas Iyer, aiming to make a comeback to India's Test squad, fell for a second successive duck in the ongoing tournament.
India's Test stars flopped with the bat as the hosts folded for a lowly 194 in 52.5 overs in their first innings, on Day 2 of the unofficial second Test against Australia A.
Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana and Chetan Sakariya is looking to imbibe the traits of Rahul Dravid
Shubman Gill might just want to be fit enough to bat, as even a half-fit skipper is seen as more effective than Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sarfaraz Khan.
Here's a roundup of all Ranji Trophy matches played on Day 1 on Wednesday.
Openers Phil Salt and Virat Kohli will brace for a fiery showdown against thunderbolts from express pacer Jofra Archer as Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru look to get back to winning ways in the IPL match in Jaipur on Sunday.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against Australia in Perth?
Opener Sam Konstas smashed a century to lead Australia's superb showing with the bat on the rain-hit Day 1 of the first unofficial Test match against India A.
'Jaiswal is too talented to be written off after one bad innings. He'll bounce back. The real test is how he handles the second innings.'
Abhimanyu Easwaran made the future path all the more tough with his second duck of the match, while Sai Sudharsan concluded his lukewarm preparation for the South Africa Test series with an underwhelming 23 off 38 balls.
'Most of the batters performed. I would say that is a very good sign going forward. Apart from this you have got three quality batters who are not even part of the squad -- Shreyas (Iyer), Sarfaraz (Khan) and (Devdutt) Padikkal.'
It was also his third hundred in the last seven innings after going past three digits against Australia A at Lucknow and the West Indies at Ahmedabad.
Batting stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara, ignored for the two-Test series against South Africa, cracked an unbeaten century as defending champions Saurashtra made a mockery of the Jharkhand bowling attack.
The final Test begins on Friday in New Delhi, and the Shubman Gill-led side is expected to maintain their winning combination as they look to wrap up the home series.
Devdutt Padikkal, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shimron Hetmyer starred in the Royals chase.
Speaking to ANI, sources within the RCB franchise confirmed that Virat and Siraj will be flying out from Manchester in a charter flight on Saturday night and reach Dubai early Sunday morning.
Senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli made a grand comeback to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, smashing centuries on the opening day of the one-day tournament on Wednesday.
The COVID-19 setback firmly behind him, Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Devdutt Padikkal says he is now ready to fire with the bat in IPL 2021 and feels confident of replicating his stupendous domestic form in the T20 league.
Kohli has constructed a mini hot streak, making four fifties in his last five innings and pushing for Orange Cap with 443 runs.
'DC v RCB: Dressing room Chat Part 2. Jitesh appreciates cameos from Bethell and David, and has a special message for Rajat in the end!'
India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A in Bengaluru from Thursday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will aim to turn their fortunes around at home when they face a struggling Rajasthan Royals on Thursday in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Devdutt Padikkal joined Mumbai skipper Prithvi Shaw to surpass Mayank Agarwal's tally of most runs in a single Vijay Hazare Trophy edition.
The fringe and aspiring bunch will look to own the elevated Duleep Trophy stage as the red-ball competition returns to its traditional zonal format and marks the start of India's domestic cricket season.
Durham pace duo of Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse wreaked havoc on a depleted India A side as they bowled the hosts out for a modest 192 to give England Lions upper hand in the third and final unofficial Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Karun Nair played a pivotal role in Vidarbha's Ranji Trophy title last season, which also helped him make a comeback to the Indian Test team after a long gap of eight years.
RCB seamer Josh Hazlewood's participation in remaining IPL matches doubtful
Flamboyant keeper-batter Ishan Kishan walked into the middle and he looked in the mood as he played some impressive shots, including pulling O'Neill for a six.
Before this game. Kohli after three poor outings across which he made just 30 runs in RCB's home matches.
India Test skipper and T20 vice-captain Shubman Gill reached the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) for fitness assessment ahead of travelling to Dubai for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Struggling Mumbai Indians will be hoping their batters get their act together and shoulder responsibility when they take on an inspired Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League match in Mumbai on Monday.
