Indian cricketer Devdutt Padikkal recently melted hearts on social media with a feel-good story about kindness. The 24-year-old shared how he met a young Australian fan in a cricket shop—and ended up surprising the kid by buying him brand-new cricket gear.
Padikkal, who is currently in Australia following India’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign, shared the story on Instagram. He posted a picture with the boy and his mother, describing how the moment reminded him of his own childhood visits to cricket stores.
A Special Day at the Cricket Store
In his Instagram story, Padikkal shared the details of the encounter.
“Saw this little kid at the cricket store today with his mom, all excited looking for a new bat and other gear. Reminded me of my childhood and how special these days at the store used to be. Offered to give him whatever he wanted on the day hoping to make his day a little bit more special. Simple joys,” Padikkal wrote.
The gesture was met with praise from fans and fellow cricketers, who lauded Padikkal for his kindness. Many highlighted the impact such moments can have on young cricket enthusiasts.
Padikkal’s Recent Performances
Padikkal featured in the first Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the absence of regular openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. He scored 0 in the first innings and 25 in the second. India went on to win that game by a huge margin of 295 runs.
Although Padikkal showed promise early on, he didn’t feature in the final four games of the series. Australia staged a strong comeback. They took the series 3-1 and secured their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final alongside South Africa. For India, it was a disappointing outcome. They missed out on the WTC final for the first time in three seasons.
Padikkal’s international career began with a T20I series against Sri Lanka in 2021. He put up 38 runs over two games then. His Test debut came later in 2024 during a home series against England, where he stood out by scoring an impressive half-century in his very first match.
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