After a terrific 2018-19 domestic season, Devdutt Padikkal was carrying a sense of anticipation around him ahead of the 2020 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) and the southpaw didn’t disappoint his well-wishers.
Playing his maiden IPL season for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in UAE, Padikkal outscored both Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to end as the highest run-getter for the franchise. He amassed 473 runs from 15 games at a strike rate of 124.80, including 5 half-centuries.
As he gears up for another IPL season, the 20-year-old Padikkal spoke about rubbing shoulders with Kohli and De Villiers at the RCB dressing room.
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“That was a pretty special experience to have. You get to learn so much from them. The kind of passion and drive they have for the game, the way they play, the way they carry themselves through the busy, long tournament. It is not easy to handle all that pressure, especially when the team is looking at you to take the responsibility. How they handle was great to see, and that is something I picked up from them,” Padikkal told Hindustan Times in an exclusive chat.
Sharing the experience of batting alongside Kohli, the youngster remarked: “He plays at such a high level; when you are batting with him, you feel you have to really push yourself and match the standard at which he plays. That helped improve my game. Batting with him, he makes the game pretty easy. He understands the game so well, when to take a chance and when to pull back, and when to really go after the bowling. When you have so much knowledge and experience it makes our job very easy at the other end.”
Padikkal also revealed the conversations he had with De Villiers last time around.
“He is such a special player. You have to just watch and admire how he bats. Whenever we spoke, he just told me to stay in the zone and continue to bat the way I was batting, whatever few words he spoke to me were really special. He used to tell me to keep working and that this is just a beginning and there is a long way to go.”
During the last year’s IPL, Padikkal had left fans and experts in awe with a magnificent pull shot off India’s ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah and he remembers the stroke vividly.
“Yes, I remember that shot. The thing was, being my first year in IPL, I knew people will probably test me with the short ball early on. I just wanted to make sure I showed them I am able to pull regardless of what pace I am facing. As soon as I got the chance, I played the pull shot so that they know I am an impact player.”
Padikkal said there was a change in the opponent’s strategy against him in the Vijay Hazare Trophy after his stellar showing in the IPL 2020.
Notably, the left-hander finished the season with a staggering 737 runs at an average of 147.40, including a record four hundreds on the trot.
“May be, to an extent. They probably had certain plans against me which they didn’t have before. I continued to play my game. In terms of the general feeling of playing the tournament, it was pretty similar to the previous season. I just wanted to make sure I continued my good form and kept scoring big runs.”
Padikkal didn’t earn India call-up for the England ODI series despite a marvellous Vijay Hazare Trophy but he remains unperturbed by it.
“What I have learnt for the past two-three years is that I can’t be really bothered about the selection. It is not in my control. What I am looking to do is to improve my game every day, work on myself. Two-three years back may be, I used to think a lot about selection, being in the team and stuff like that. In the last couple of years, I have learnt it is important to focus on my game and continue to get runs wherever I am playing. It doesn’t matter for which team, franchise cricket or domestic cricket; I want to make sure I continue to score runs, make my team win. Eventually, when I get there it will be great.”
There is a huge competition for the opener’s slot in the Indian team currently. But Padikkal is not fazed by the challenge and wants to keep getting better.
“There is lot of competition, but I take it as a fun challenge, to be honest. When you have a high level of competition it makes you do better, pushes you even more; that is always good. I just keep pushing myself and keep improving every day. The more competition I have, the more drive I have to do better. That’s how I look at it.”
The elegant opener also expressed his desire to represent the country in Test cricket.
“The ultimate goal is to play for India in the longest format. In the short term, I am going to focus on each game at a time. That’s what I have tried to do in the past couple of years. It didn’t matter if I was playing IPL or a domestic tournament. I just wanted to make sure every game I play, I make an impact and improve.”
