Devdutt Padikkal: Karnataka's Rising Star
Devdutt Padikkal an elegant left-hand batter from Karnarakta has been making tons of runs in domestic cricket consistently, especially since 2019. The young left-hander is seen as someone who has immense potential to serve Indian cricket for a long time in the future which was evident during his first innings in test cricket against England where the left-hander scored an impressive half-century
The Prodigy
Karnataka is known for producing quality batters like Rahul Dravid, Mayank Agrawal, Manish Pandey, and one of the two Indian players to score a triple century in test cricket. Karun Nair. Apart from batters, the state has produced one of the country’s best spinner Anil Kumble along with fast bowlers like Javgal Srinath who now fulfills the role of a match referee.
Devdutt Padikkal is another one of those eye-catching left-handers from the Karnartka school of batsmanship. Like India’s current head coach Rahul Dravid, it seems like Padikkal was born to bat which is evident by the fact that his parents moved from Hyderabad to Bangaluru when he was young. Padikkal started playing cricket at the age of 11 and came up through the grind of school cricket. The left-hander first caught everyone’s attention with a stunning 53-ball 72 for his team Ballari Tuskers in the Karnataka Premier League in 2017 and after that impressive show, he kept piling runs for Karnataka Under 19s before a slump in form and self-doubt threatened to stall his career. But hard work and perseverance saw the youngster rise like a phoenix from the ashes to rack up 829 runs in the Cooch Behar Trophy 2018, finishing as the fourth-highest run-getter.
Padikkal’s consistent performances at the junior level earned him a place in the Karnataka senior team for the Vijay Hazare Trophy followed by a call-up to the India Under 19 team for the tour of Sri Lanka. Padikkal was impressive in the particular series which helped him earn an Indian Premier League contract with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Although he didn’t get the opportunity to make his debut he got the chance to gain valuable experience from the greats of the game.
The Grind and the Reward
Paddikal went back to domestic cricket and scored heavily during the 2019-20 season across formats which included a total of 609 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with him scoring his maiden List A century. The left-hander was rewarded for his hard work as he got the opportunity to open the innings for RCB alongside Virat Kohli in IPL 2020. Padikkal continued his good form and scored 473 runs in 15 matches and won the Emerging Player of the Season Award
The Karnataka batter kept on piling runs in the 2021 IPL season right from the start of the season and scored his maiden IPL century against Rajasthan Royals helping his team register a thumping 10-wicket win in the process.
With impressive performances in domestic cricket and IPL Padikkal’s maiden India call-up was inevitable and it did come for India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2021
Devdutt Padikkal's maiden IPL century - 101*(52) vs RR: IPL 2021
The Health Issues and the Comeback
Padikkal faced a slump in form in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season as the left-hander scored only 260 runs in seven innings along with losing 10 Kilos of weight that year. But as a professional sportsman, Padikkal handled the tough phase of his life and made a strong comeback. In the words of Padikkal "Returning from the illness was very tough. The biggest challenge was to get physically fit. I had lost 10 kilos and I had to eat right and concentrate on regaining muscle and strength." Devdutt Padikkal made his test debut in the fifth test against England and stroked a delightful half-century in the first innings helping India cross the 400-run mark.
