Devdutt Padikkal continues his rise to the top with elegance

When Devdutt Padikkal was about 10-11 years old, his parents took a gamble of moving to Bangalore from Hyderabad so that he could take his cricketing career forward. He was one among hundreds of young boys who had come to the Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC) with dreams of making it big one day. It was coach Irfan Sait, who took the initiative, stepped in and assured Padikkal’s parents of his talent after which they decided to relocate to Bangalore.

Fast forward to 10 years later, Padikkal, after scoring abundance of runs at the domestic level, gets picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), where he got an opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best cricketers today – including India captain Virat Kohli and also, former South Africa captain AB de Villiers, among many others.

Sait believes that mingling with such renowned cricketers has rubbed off on Padikkal well and also revealed an interesting exercise RCB did during last year’s IPL. 

“The team management had put the seniors as mentors. All the seniors had one or two cricketers to mentor. He was lucky that he had Virat Kohli to mentor him. That has rubbed off really well on him and then those interactions, the one-to-ones he has with Virat Kohli – all of that has contributed to his maturity,” Padikkal’s coach at KIOC, Irfan Sait said in a chat with Cricket.com.

The fact that he got to spend a lot of time with Kohli showed against Rajasthan Royals (RR) especially in the way they ran between the wickets where communication and trust are key. Not to forget, Padikkal stole the show with his extravagant strokeplay and completely overshadowed someone of the stature of Kohli, which is no mean feat.

Sait who has seen Padikkal from close quarters was not at all surprised to see him dominate the way he did against RR. Kohli was not even into his 30s, but the southpaw had raced to 80 by then. His drives were glorious, his cuts and pulls devastating. 

“He can get a lot better in the covers and cover-point region. But anything straight and on the leg side, he is very, very strong,” Sait, who rates Padikkal’s knock as one of the finest by a youngster, said. 

 “Barring one reverse sweep, every shot he played was proper technique and cricketing shots. It (century) was due much earlier. Every time he was getting into 60s and 70s and not getting that 100, there was a little disappointment. Happened like that in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and other tournaments. But when the hundred came, they were big ones. Many more to come is what I am sure about,” he added.

The start of IPL 2021 has not been easy for Padikkal. He was diagnosed with Covid-19 and as a result, could not play RCB’s first match against Mumbai Indians (MI), something the batsman said he was hurt by.

But he was not to be sidelined for long as he returned to play against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), but it was the next game in Chennai against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) he made an impact. Scoring 25 off 28 as an opener in T20s cannot be termed as an achievement by any stretch of imagination, but the youngster held one end up and let Glenn Maxwell score big at the other end after his team had lost a couple of early wickets. 

“I am not surprised, but I am pleasantly happy and overjoyed. It was due much earlier. Everytime he was getting into 60s and 70s and not getting that 100, there was a little disappointment. Happened like that in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and other tournaments. But when the hundred came, they were big ones. Many more to come is what I am sure about.”

“The wicket in Chennai and the kind of attack and pressure there was on the team and all that. What he did at that time was also valuable. Whatever he scored was also a good contribution,” Sait said talking about Padikkal’s ability to adapt according to situations.

Kohli said Padikkal is one to watch out for in the future after RCB’s 10-wicket win over RR and Sait is of the belief that the Indian selectors have already taken notice of the talent. India already have enough openers in the T20I side and with Kohli set to open for them, it further adds to the depth. The likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Ishan Kishan too are on the fringes, but Padikkal has certainly put his name in the hat. However, he and RCB will be hopeful that he carries on from here and takes them closer to their maiden IPL title.

“Selectors would have already taken note of his ability. It’s not just the number of runs he makes, but the way he makes it looks easy, it gives a lot of confidence to those sitting in the pavilion as well. The one going next after him is also very confident looking at the way this youngster is going,” Sait said.

Having scored most runs (473 at 31.53) for RCB last season, Padikkal won the Emerging Player of the Year award as well. He has followed that up with impressive performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (218 runs at 43.60) and also the Vijay Hazare Trophy (737 runs at 147.40). And now, he has begun IPL 2021 too with a bang. Things are looking up for RCB and Padikkal.