Rajasthan Royals opener Devdutt Padikkal says it was ‘incredibly special’ to reach IPL 2022 final
Rajasthan Royals opener Devdutt Padikkal says it was ‘incredibly special’ to reach IPL 2022 final. Devdutt Padikkal at the age of 22 years of age owns a Team India cap. He has the honor of being part of the India Premier League (IPL) final. The Karnataka opener spent three seasons as a member of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He was then picked up by the Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs 7.75 crore at the IPL 2022 mega auction.
Padikkal has maintained consistency at the top of the order at a very young age. Padikkal has scored 473 runs and 411 runs in IPL 2020 and 2021 seasons respectively.
The young Karnataka opener is a member of the Gulbarga Mystics in the ongoing Maharaja Trophy T20 league led by another Team India batsman Manish Pandey. In an exclusive interview, Devdutt Padikkal revealed the experience of joining the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022.
Padikkal fought in the middle-order primarily for the Sanju Samson-led Royals as Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal were the opening batsmen for the side. It was a new role for the Karnataka southpaw to which he adapted well. Padikkal scored 376 runs the last season.
“It was a different role for me with the Rajasthan Royals in IPL this year and took a bit of time to get used to. Hopefully, that experience will help me and I can move on to the next season with much more confidence. I hope to put into practice all that I have learned this year in IPL 2023,” Padikkal said in an exclusive interview.
IPL 2022 was the first time that Padikkal was part of any other team apart from RCB.
“It was great, to be honest, I was not sure what to expect when I joined Rajasthan Royals. It was something new for me after three years in RCB. I enjoyed every bit of it, the way we played, the cricket we played. And to get to the finals of IPL was something incredibly special. Hopefully, I can continue to build on the success of this season and take that extra step next year,” the 22-year-old said.
Padikkal earned a place in Team India when they toured Sri Lanka under the captaincy of Shikhar Dhawan in 2021. The call-up was due to an incredible run-stand at the top of the order for RCB with former captain Virat Kohli. Kohli displayed his performance in a couple of T20 matches against Sri Lanka in 2021 for a score of 29. But he revealed that he was not focusing on ‘team selection’.
“India team selection is not up to me. That’s not something that I think, and I have maintained that consistently. I don’t think about getting selected into teams or squads. I just look at what I can improve upon and what I can get better at. Not really thinking about getting into the Indian team, I am going to continue to work on my game, there is a lot of learning left for me to do, and it is just the start of my career,” the Royals opener said.
“My mindset in terms of selection and getting picked to play for a team changed when I was playing in the U16s, and it never bothered me if I wasn’t picked. I was just trying to play the game and enjoy myself. You of course want to be there playing for India and even in the IPL, you want to do well always, but that’s not how things work obviously. As long as you are showing up and giving 100 percent, that’s all that matters because that’s the only thing in your control,” he added.
Finally, when asked about the Maharaja T20 League in Karnataka, Padikkal stated, “Definitely it is a great opportunity for everyone in Karnataka to showcase their talent. Personally, I have not played much cricket recently, and it is important for me to get back into the groove ahead of the domestic season. To have a tournament like this which has a high standard of cricket is great. Hopefully, it can put me in a good state of mind going forward.”