Devdutt Padikkal, without a doubt, has been one of the most promising prospects to emerge from the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the previous two IPL seasons, the stylish left-handed batter from Karnataka played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
The southpaw appeared in 29 games for the RCB, scoring 884 runs at a strike rate of 125.03 and an average of 31.57. Padikkal, who was signed for INR 20 lakhs, had an outstanding debut season in IPL 2020.
The Karnataka batter was recently interviewed for the RCB podcast, where he shared anecdotes from his first game with the franchise.
“Simon actually came out and told me that you’ll be playing the first game. I wasn’t expecting it to be honest, I thought they might bench me a couple of games before they gave me a spot in the squad. The fact that they immediately put in from the first game gave me so much confidence. They have that trust and belief in me that I can straightaway get into the team and start performing. All you need is confidence from the management and coaches,” he said.
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Padikkal also finished the IPL 2020 season as the team's leading run-scorer. The franchise, however, released him ahead of the IPL 2022 auction after an average second half of the IPL in the UAE in 2021. Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Mohammed Siraj were all retained. On the podcast, he also discussed his first encounter with RCB captain Virat Kohli, under whom he made his IPL debut.
“The first time I met him was in the ground, during a practice session. I was star-struck and was unsure how to go up to him and start talking. I didn’t want to get into small talk because I’m not good at it,” he said.
“So, the first thing I asked him is about cricket. I asked what he does when he goes through a bad phase,” the youngster said on his first interaction with Virat Kohli.
Devdutt Padikkal was not retained by the RCB, who banked on Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, and Mohammed Siraj to form the core of their team IPL 2022 onwards.
The IPL 2022 mega auction will take place on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru, respectively. Padikkal has established himself as a reliable performer in the IPL, and teams will gladly engage in a bidding war to secure his services.
