The BCCI’s Senior Men’s Selection Committee has announced the squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand. Regular captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer return to the squad for this series. Iyer is still not fully fit and will only be allowed to play in the ODI series after passing a fitness test.

Devdutt Padikkal has been scoring runs relentlessly

Before the series was announced, there was speculation that players who performed well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy might be included in the squad for the ODI series, but that hasn’t been the case yet. There’s one player currently on fire in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, whose bat is blazing a trail. But no one is talking about him. That player is Devdutt Padikkal.

Padikkal’s bat is currently speaking loudly in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He has played five matches so far in this tournament, scoring four centuries. He has amassed 514 runs at an average of 102.8. However, he has not been included in Team India for the ODI series.

Devdutt Padikkal has had a strong record in the Vijay Hazare Trophy since its inception. The stylish left-handed batsman has played 33 matches in this 50-over domestic tournament, scoring 2525 runs at an average of 94.74. He has scored 25 50+ runs in this tournament, including 12 centuries. Despite this impressive record, Padikkal has yet to make his ODI debut. Padikkal has already made his Test and T20I debuts for India.

It should be noted that all 13 of Padikkal’s List A centuries have come in the Vijay Hazare Trophy alone. With this, he has become the third-highest century-scorer in the tournament’s history. He surpassed current Karnataka captain Mayank Agarwal (12) in terms of centuries. Only Ankit Bawne and Ruturaj Gaikwad are now ahead of Devdutt Padikkal in the list of players with the most centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Bawne has scored 15 centuries in this tournament, and Ruturaj has scored 14. Padikkal could surpass these two players in the future.