Picture Credit: Twitter/@BCCI
Although July 7 is best known in the Indian cricket circuit as the birthday of the legendary MS Dhoni, it also happens to be a birthday of an emerging star Devdutt Padikkal. While MS, a veteran of the game announced his retirement from international cricket last year, Padikkal is yet to make his India debut although he has been named in the India squad for their tour of Sri Lanka where they are to play a limited-overs series. The left-handed batter is with the team in the island country and as the bunch of boys started their celebrations with Padikkal cutting the cake, he spoke a few words addressing MS Dhoni.
The Edappal-born cricketer, who turned 21 on Wednesday, first silenced the players and support staff who had started singing the birthday song for him and then made a touching short, little speech.
"Before I cut the cake, I would like to wish Mahi bhai on behalf of the entire team. He has been an inspiration to all of us and to share the birthday with him is a great feeling. Happy birthday to him," he said. The video of the celebration was shared by the BCCI on its official social media handle.
Check out the video here:
The India- Sri Lanka series is set to commence with the ODIs on July 13. After the three ODIs, the three T20Is will follow, with all the matches happening in Colombo to avoid travelling which increases the risk of transmitting COVID-19. While Shikhar Dhawan has been named the captain of this side, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is his deputy.