Devdutt Padikkal to replace Rajat Patidar in India's playing 11 for the 5th Test vs England: Reports

Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal is set to make his Test debut against England in the fourth Test in Ranchi on March 7, according to a report in the Hindustan Times.

The in-form left-handed batter would replace Rajat Patidar, who has struggled in his first three Tests with scores of 32, 9, 5, 0, 17, and 0. Patidar replaced KL Rahul after the latter picked up a quadriceps injury in the series opener in Hyderabad.

Rahul has reportedly traveled to the United Kingdom to seek consultations and treatment for his injury and is all but ruled out of the fifth Test too. Padikkal, meanwhile, was added to the squad as the Lucknow Super Giants captain's cover for the third Test.

"Padikkal will make his debut in Dharamsala," Hindustan Times quoted a BCCI source as saying. "Rahul is unlikely to be available and the team management wants to have a look at Padikkal as it is the last international fixture before the IPL."

The decision was reportedly taken by chief selector Ajit Agarkar after consultations with skipper Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, and other staff.

Padikkal, 23, will become the fifth debutant in the series after Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, and Akash Deep.

It has seemingly worked against Patidar's favor that both Sarfaraz and Jurel have shown good form in the last two Tests and looked much more comfortable for the step-up from domestic cricket.

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What does Devdutt Padikkal's first-class record look like?

The former Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals batter, who recently moved to the Lucknow Super Giants, has been in superb form in domestic red-ball cricket for the past many months.

In four Ranji Trophy matches this season, he has three centuries and an overall 556 runs at an average of 92.66. His scores before the India call-up read: 193, 42, 31, 103, 105, 65, 21, 151, and 36.

Overall, he has 2227 runs from 31 first-class games at an average of 44.54.