'Been an inspiration for all and to share birthday with him is a great feeling' - Devdutt Padikkal's touching message for birthday twin MS Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the former Indian skipper, turned 40 on Wednesday and from India’s current skipper Virat Kohli to Sachin Tendulkar, the BCCI to the ICC, wishes poured in for the man in abundance. While tons of members of the cricketing fraternity posted heartfelt wishes for the former legend, a young, shining prospect, who shares his birthday with Dhoni, celebrated his 21st.

On Wednesday, the BCCI posted a video where Devdutt Padikkal was seen celebrating alongside teammates currently in Colombo for India’s limited-overs tour. As his member-friends cheered from behind, Padikkal paused before cutting the cake and voiced a touching message for his senior birthday twin.

“Before I cut the cake, I would like to wish Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) on behalf of the entire team. He’s been an inspiration for all of us and to share a birthday with him is a great feeling. So happy birthday to him,” Padikkal said and proceeded with the celebrations.

Devdutt Padikkal in line to make his maiden international appearance

Notably, the 21-year-old has never played under MS Dhoni’s leadership, but the two have featured against each other in the Indian Premier League. Padikkal earned his maiden call-up for the upcoming Sri Lanka series, where India is set to play six white-ball games – three ODIs and T20Is each, while another 25-member squad is in the United Kingdom, prepping up for the five-Test series against England.

Both Padikkal and Dhoni were last active in the currently-suspended edition of the IPL, which was postponed midway through after Covid-19 cases emerged across four different camps across two cities. Meanwhile, it was Padikkal’s promising show in the league for two consecutive seasons that forced the selectors to take notice of him and award him a spot with the majority of India’s first-choice players unavailable due to their UK duties.

In the 2021 edition, Padikkal blasted a sensational century against Rajasthan Royals and had 195 runs in six games at the time of the season suspension. With the IPL set to resume in September in the UAE, preceding the T20 World Cup 2021 that starts only two days after the IPL final, the coming series is Padikkal’s chance to maintain his rhythm and solidify his spot in the national team.