Devdutt Padikkal: News

Devdutt Padikkal is a player who caught the eye of Indian cricket fans after the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL). A left-handed batsman with his own style and panache, he first showed his talent when he scored 72 off 53 balls in the 2017 Karnataka Premier League. He continued his rich vein of form in the U-19 category. More than the numbers themselves, it was how he scored them that made him a player to watch out for. Padikkal began grabbing national attention after his impressive performance in the 2018 Cooch Behar Trophy. Making his first-class debut for Karnataka in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy, Padikkal made a statement with his performance in the 2019-10 Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he finished as the leading run-scorer. This led to him being named in the India A team for the 2019-20 Deodhar Trophy. Although he had started making headlines through domestic competitions, it was Padikkal's performance in the 2020 IPL playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore that really brought him to the limelight. He became the first player to score three fifties in their first four matches in IPL history and ended up winning the Emerging Player Award. He made his T20I debut in 2021 against Sri Lanka.