Rahul, Padikkal and the Brewmance Between

A feel-good moment on Day four of the Galle Test was the camaraderie between KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal. After a successful DRS review, prompted by Padikkal, the senior partner crunched him in a tight embrace and almost gave him a peck on the cheek, but for the helmet grille. Rahul made no secret of his gratitude for the reprieve, and their on-field bromance made for a rare delightful sight during the Test against Sri Lanka.

Their bond, of course, goes beyond the field. Multiple friends close to the Karnataka duo reveal that they have been the best of buddies and spend a lot of time together. On overseas tours, they often go out in search of cafés, as both are apparently hardcore coffee aficionados.

They are sometimes joined by a few other teammates – Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel, for example, and, of course, Prasidh Krishna, the duo's fellow Karnataka teammate in the Indian side. "They are thick pals. They roam around the touring cities, looking for coffee joints," says a common friend.

Ahead of the Sri Lanka series, the two practised together specifically on playing spin, and that pre-tour hard work appears to have paid off instantly. One has scored 211 runs, including a big century, while the other has contributed 117, including a big half-century in the Test. Together, they have added 227 runs in partnership across the two innings of the match.

"Batting with KL, I think it's always been enjoyable. I think I have played quite a few innings with him now, even with Karnataka as well. We have had some long partnerships. I think we play well with each other. I think it's a good partnership that we have. I think he understands the way I bat, the tempo in which I bat," Padikkal said after Day 4 of the Test.

"And I do the same as well. So when you have that kind of chemistry, I think it helps in stitching that partnership. And really pushing the limits as to how far we can go. I think that's something that he helps me with," he added.

Rahul (34) and Padikkal (26) have played 27 matches together for Karnataka – six Ranji Trophy, 13 List A and eight Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games – over the years. They had played only two Tests together, the first one being in Perth in the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They have also been teammates in seven IPL matches, an association that was engineered by Rahul.

Before the start of the 2024 IPL season, Rahul, then captain of the franchise, had requested the Lucknow Super Giants management to bring in Padikkal. It was a two-way trade with Rajasthan Royals, with LSG giving away Avesh Khan for Padikkal. It was a different matter that Padikkal did not do particularly well that season (he scored only 37 runs in seven games), but after being bought by RCB, he has been part of back-to-back title-winning seasons.

Rahul was profuse in his praise for his younger teammate. "Yeah, very special. Obviously, coming from the same state, Dev is somebody that I've seen come through the ranks from Under-19s and score tons and tons of runs for Karnataka and make his way up to Indian cricket. And in the last couple of years, he's been waiting for his opportunity and quietly toiling in the nets and trying to get better at some aspects of his batting.

"We've had a lot of chats over the last couple of years that he's been with the team as to what needs to get better, or what to expect in Sri Lanka, what to expect in the Test matches to come. And, you know, he's one of those players who's come here before and scored some runs for India A as well. So, just getting used to the conditions, he scored a hundred in the warm-up game as well.

"And so, he's been amongst the runs. He's someone who loves batting and scoring big runs, and I'm really happy that he could get his first hundred, and that's really special for everybody. And it's very important to get that early in your career so you can get that out of the way and then start enjoying your cricket, start enjoying your batting and take your batting to the next level.

"And I think he's at a stage where he understands his batting really well and he's scoring lots…," the India vice-captain told bcci.tv after Padikkal's brilliant century (167) in the first innings.