Padikkal will make his India A captaincy debut after gaining valuable experience while leading Karnataka in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. He took over as Karnataka captain late in the league stage and went on to make a strong impact with both bat and ball.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The left-handed batter said his time as Karnataka captain gave him an important learning experience, and he now wants to use that knowledge while leading India A.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cDefinitely, it\u2019s a wonderful opportunity to be the captain of India A side. I\u2019m excited for it. I think leadership is something that I really enjoy doing, especially starting off with Karnataka last year. It was a great learning curve for me, so I\u2019m really looking forward to carrying that experience to India A set-up as well,\u201d Padikkal was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Padikkal\u2019s appointment comes after a strong run in red-ball cricket. He recently returned to the India Test side and scored centuries in successive Tests against Sri Lanka.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He also made a valuable contribution in the Duleep Trophy final, scoring 62 for South Zone. However, South Zone lost the final to East Zone on the basis of the first-innings lead after East Zone posted more than 1,000 runs across its two innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Padikkal\u2019s appointment comes after a strong run in red-ball cricket. He recently returned to the India Test side and scored centuries in successive Tests against Sri Lanka.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cCaptaincy is just an added responsibility to go out there and make sure that I\u2019m helping the side. I\u2019ve always played cricket that way. I\u2019ve always wanted to ensure that the team wins. As a captain, that\u2019s your sole focus. You want to make the team win. That just helps my batting even further,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n