Indian batter Devdutt Padikkal has opened up about his conversations with legendary Rahul Dravid on batting for a long period of time in Test cricket. Dravid faced 31258 balls in Test cricket, the most by any batter in the history of the sport and he definitely knows a thing or two about batting for a long duration in the red-ball version.

Meanwhile, Padikkal scored a total of 328 runs in three innings of the series against Sri Lanka at an average of 109.33 and was awarded Player of the Series. The left-hander scored two centuries in as many Test matches and batted at the top of his game.

“Obviously, I’ve had a lot of conversations with him over the years in terms of batting and what it takes to really spend long hours out there. Again, it comes back to preparation and understanding what you want to do. As long as you have that clarity in your head about what your plans are and what you want to go out there and do, regardless of the position you’re batting at, it helps a lot. I think those are the conversations I’ve had with him,” he said in an interview with Star Sports.

“At the end of the day, it’s about going out there and batting. It doesn’t matter what position I’m batting at, I’m trying to contribute to the side. Yes, obviously, there have been great players who have played at number three for India over the years, and I’m sure there’ll be a lot more scrutiny on me and a lot more comparisons made. But at the end of the day, I’m going out there and just playing my cricket, and as long as I’m enjoying that, I think everything will fall into place,” he added.

Padikkal was able to grab his chance with both hands in the absence of injured Sai Sudharsan, who was ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka due to a toe injury. The Karnataka batter is now expected to be India’s number three, and he is likely to get a long run at one drop.