Devdutt Padikkal had a very difficult season with the Lucknow Super Giants in 2024, scoring just 38 runs in seven games. However, he has made a remarkable comeback with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2025, averaging 30 runs at a strike rate of 150. His performance against the Punjab Kings on Sunday made it very simple for the RCB to figure out a structure.
A Beautiful List Although Padikkal, a batsman, wasn’t as good in the game’s shortest format, he thinks he is about to reach a new stage in his career where he may dominate T20 cricket.
“I have been hitting really well this season, so nothing particularly noteworthy to report. The most crucial aspect of my batting is that I have liked it. I have put in a lot of effort over the past year or so to get my current level of T20 cricket proficiency.
Devdutt Padikkal stated in the press conference following the game, “Obviously, the previous couple of years weren’t ideal, it wasn’t great.”
“To be honest, all I had to do was start over and really work on myself because I was the first to accept responsibility for my shortcomings. Once you accept responsibility and realise that you are not good enough, I believe that’s when you can start improving.”
Despite having lost all three of their home games thus far, RCB managed to capture their fifth away victory of the season. Even if they are headed to the playoffs, Padikkal insisted that they must win at home.
We have played some excellent cricket throughout the tournament, but I honestly believe that our victories away from home are just a coincidence. Every time we lose, we bounce back quickly and start winning games again, which is evidence that we have truly gelled as a team. It is crucial that we maintain this momentum and figure out a way to win at home as well because, of course, it is a crucial component and the Chinnaswamy deserves to see some victories.
To tell the truth, I don’t believe the pitch has anything to do with it. Our ability to read the pitch as a batting unit must be sufficiently swift. To be honest, I don’t think we’ve done it as well as we could have, but that’s just a part of the IPL tournament; there are always going to be obstacles to overcome, and this is one that we as a team need to overcome.”