Indian Premier League 2020: Devdutt Padikkal, top scorer in domestic white ball cricket, keen to make mark for Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) opening batsman Devdutt Padikkal wants to cut it out against the big shots in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2020. The 20-year-old was in scintillating form in the limited overs format last season- scoring the most runs in both Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Karnataka.
The left-handed batsman is toiling hard in RCB’s training sessions and in a video posted from the official Twitter handle of RCB, he said: “We have had a good number of (training) sessions, we are feeling really good and we feel like we are getting back to what we were before the lockdown.”
Padikkal’s opening exploits were perhaps the principal reason for Karnataka’s triumphant run to both the limited overs domestic titles. Last season, The southpaw scored an astonishing 609 runs from 11 matches in the List A ( 50 overs) Vijay Hazare trophy while racking-up 580 runs from 12 matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy (T20) at a searing strike-rate of 175.75.
It’s no wonder that Kerala-born Padikkal was bought by RCB for his base price of Rs 20 Lakhs in the 2019 IPL auctions. The fans of the franchise were over the moon with the purchase as the young batsman can surely become a vital cog in RCB’s lineup in this season as well as in the future.
He further added “We had some quality sessions which were really targeted towards what we are aiming to achieve. We are getting used to the weather and acclimatizing to the conditions here (UAE).”
After reaching the finals in 2016, the side have performed miserably by their lofty standards and finished at the bottom of the table in the 2017 and 2019 editions. The side will look to come out all guns blazing for the upcoming edition and will bid for their maiden IPL title.
Fresh blood in the form of youngsters like Padikkal will surely turn the odds in RCB’s favour as they need that hunger and creativity to lay their hands on the prestigious trophy after having dismal campaigns since the past three years.
RCB boast of a strong squad for the forthcoming 13th edition of IPL. The franchise brought in Australian limited overs skipper Aaron Finch and also roped in leg-spinner Adam Zampa as a replacement for pacer Kane Richardson which will surely boost the team’s chances in the spin-friendly conditions of the UAE.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on SunRisers Hyderabad in their opening match of IPL 2020 on September 21.
