EXCLUSIVE: Rajasthan Royals opener Devdutt Padikkal says it was ‘incredibly special’ to reach IPL 2022 final

Devdutt Padikkal’s consistency at the top of the order at an young age was what attracted most teams at the IPL mega auction. He scored 473 and 411 in IPL 2020 and 2021 seasons respectively, including his maiden IPL ton at the age of just 20!

Opener Devdutt Padikkal in action for Gulbarga Mystics.

Devdutt Padikkal is just 22 years of age and already owns a Team India cap along with the honour of being part of the India Premier League (IPL) final. The Karnataka opener spent three seasons with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) before being snapped up by the Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs 7.75 crore at the IPL 2022 mega auction earlier this year.

Padikkal’s consistency at the top of the order at an young age was what attracted most teams at the IPL mega auction. Padikkal scored 473 and 411 in IPL 2020 and 2021 seasons respectively, including his maiden IPL ton at the age of just 20!

The young Karnataka opener is currently turning out for the Gulbarga Mystics in the ongoing Maharaja Trophy T20 league led by another Team India batter Manish Pandey. In an exclusive interview with Zee News English, Devdutt Padikkal talks about the experience of joining the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022, his Team India aspiration and much more.

Padikkal batted in the middle-order primarily for the Sanju Samson-led Royals as Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal were opening the batting for the side. It was a new role for the Karnataka southpaw and he adapted to it well, scoring 376 runs 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 to Zee News English.

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IPL 2022 was the first time that Padikkal was turning out for any other team apart from RCB. Although there were nerves but the youngster was part of the playing XI which competed in the IPL 2022 final against the Gujarat Titans

“It was great to be honest, I wasn’t 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 call up into the Team India side when they toured Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series under the captaincy of Shikhar Dhawan in 2021. The call-up was thanks of incredible run at the top of the order for RCB with former captain Virat Kohli. He played in a couple of T20 matches against Sri Lanka in 2021 for a top-score of 29 but reveals that he is 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.

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“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 per cent, that’s all that matters because that’s the only thing in your control,” he added.

Finally, asked about the Maharaja T20 League in Karnataka, Padikkal said, “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 good state of mind going forward.”

(The three-week long Maharaja Trophy T20 extravaganza will be telecast live on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports Kannada. It will also be streamed live on the Fancode app)