Devdutt Padikkal has had quite a journey in the Indian Premier League, and now that he’s back with Royal Challengers Bengaluru—the franchise where it all began—it feels like a full-circle moment. But the road hasn’t been smooth. The left-hander candidly admitted that shifting between franchises at a young age left him feeling unsettled and uncertain about his game.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Padikkal reflected on the transition from being a promising 21-year-old at RCB to navigating stints with Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants before finally returning to Bengaluru in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
“It’s challenging when you don’t feel settled in any one setup. At 21, I was playing for RCB and then suddenly had to adjust to new environments, new expectations. It wasn’t easy. I wasn’t very confident back then, and it took me about 3–4 years to understand myself better as a cricketer in the IPL,” he shared.
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The 23-year-old also revealed that a lot of introspection and hard work went into preparing for this season. After a quiet year in 2024 and inconsistent performances, Devdutt Padikkal made a conscious effort to refine his technique during the pre-season. “I knew I had to work hard. There were aspects of my game that just weren’t good enough last season. So I focused on those areas, and I’m glad to see some results now,” he said.
“I wasn’t very confident about myself and it took me three-four years to really find what I am as a cricketer in the #IPL. It’s not that easy. You try your hardest, but at times it just doesn’t work,” says #DevduttPadikkal #MIvsRCB #MIvRCB
My copy: https://t.co/EXZ6ELNoyP
— Devarchit (@Devarchit) April 8, 2025
His recent performances show glimpses of that effort. Though his first three outings this season were underwhelming—scores of 10, 27, and 4—Padikkal turned it around with a confident 37 off 22 balls against the Mumbai Indians. His second-wicket partnership of 91 runs with Virat Kohli was pivotal in RCB posting a mammoth total of 222.
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Sharing the crease with a modern-day legend like Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal said, is both a learning curve and a privilege. “Batting with Virat is always a pleasure. He’s done this for so many years with such consistency. That’s the kind of standard you want to reach as a young cricketer in the IPL,” he concluded.
