Royal Challengers Bangalore’s young opening batsman Devdutt Padikkal is a big fan of former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir. Padikkal terms Gambhir big game’s player and wants to emulate him with his batting. Gambhir played an instrumental role in Team India’s title-winning campaign of T20 World Cup 2007 and World Cup 2011, where he played vital knocks in both finals.
Rediff quoted Padikkal saying “He (Gambhir) was a big-game player and it is one thing I really want to emulate because it is in those crunch situations that those big players come out and do well for the side. He always seemed to do that when the team was under pressure and that is something I would want to do.”
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Padikkal came into the spotlight during the IPL 2020 in UAE, where he opened RCB’s batting order along with veteran Australian opener Aaron Finch. He ended the tournament as the leading run-scorer for his team with 473 runs in 15 games and adjudged Emerging Player of the year.
Speaking about his experience of batting with Virat Kohli, the young batsman wants to pick his skipper’s unmatched passion for the game.
“I do not think so. He is such a talented cricketer, he has so much experience, to be playing with him makes my game easier. I am really looking forward to having a really good partnership with him. Definitely, Virat’s passion for the game, the drive for the game he has is remarkable, that is something I have really tried to pick up on,” he added.
RCB started the IPL 2021 with three successive victories, which is also their best start in the tournament. Now, everyone is believing in RCB’s team strength. The 20-year-old shared insights from his team.
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“We have a balanced RCB side this season and we have a lot of options in every department. It is great to have such a great combination and that knowledge and experience as well. We can see that there is a real togetherness about the team this season,” revealed Padikkal.
RCB played their first three games in Chennai and came out victorious in all three of those. Now, they will shift their base to Mumbai, where they will face Rajasthan Royals in their next game on Thursday.
