Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Devdutt Padikkal claims that starting alongside Virat Kohli during his first IPL season taught him the skill of building an innings, a lesson that still influences his style of T20 cricket.
Early in his career, Padikkal, who rose to prominence with RCB in the 2020 IPL, claimed that observing Kohli play up close gave him crucial information.
“When I made my IPL debut with RCB in the 2020 season, I felt ready. I had a solid run of scores in domestic cricket behind me. And batting with Virat Kohli, one of the greatest in the game, was a huge help. At that age, watching him build an innings gave me so much clarity and understanding of how to construct a knock. That made a big difference in my growth,” PTI quoted Padikkal as saying during an interaction on JioStar.
The Karnataka batter claimed that playing several positions during his later stints with the Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants expanded his knowledge of the game.
“Moving from being a dedicated opener to batting in different positions lower down the order was challenging, especially at a young age. But those experiences with Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants shaped me into the player I am today. Batting at different numbers taught me how to read situations, construct innings under pressure, and adapt my game,” he said.
Although Padikkal acknowledged that the 2024 IPL season put him to the test mentally, he claimed that the challenging period ultimately marked a turning point in his career.
“The 2024 IPL season was a tough one. Bouncing back from a difficult season is never easy. During that season, a lot was going on in my head. You must go through the phase, accept it, and figure out how to come out better. Once the season ended, I knew exactly what I had to work on,” he said.
After returning to RCB, the left-hander gave credit to head coach Andy Flower and mentor Dinesh Karthik for helping him improve his technique and mentality.
“I made several changes to my batting technique with the help of Dinesh Karthik and Andy Flower. I needed to adjust a few things to shift from red-ball to white-ball cricket. Mentally, I had to bring more intent into my game. I needed to go out with the mindset of looking to score off every ball. Once I did that, the results started showing,” he said.
In a changing T20 environment, Padikkal claimed that RCB’s batting depth has given top-order players greater freedom to attack.
“Having a powerful and deep batting lineup at RCB is a luxury. When you know the batting order is strong all the way down, it gives you extra confidence to play freely at the top. You have to be ready to sacrifice your wicket if it helps the team score an extra 20 or 30 runs quickly,” he said.
Teen tornado Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was also praised by Padikkal for his exceptional ball-striking skills.
“What Vaibhav Sooryavanshi does is truly unique. At his age, to have that kind of power and explosiveness in his batting is special. He is a rare talent, and what he does is incredible,” he said.
