Devdutt Padikkal Shares Experience Of His India Debut In Sri Lanka

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) opener Devdutt Padikkal made his India debut in July this year on the tour of Sri Lanka. The left-hander featured in a couple of T20I, both of which India lost.

Part of a second-string squad, the young Karnataka opener was given his T20I cap after Prithvi Shaw and several other Indian players were quarantined for being in contact with Krunal Pandya, who was tested positive for the covid-19.

Devdutt Padikkal scored 29 off 23 balls in his debut innings on a tough, turning track against the Sri Lankan bowlers; he managed just 6 runs in his next outing.

It was a very exciting experience for me: Devdutt Padikkal

Devdutt Padikkal said the overall experience of the tour was “really good” as he got to learn plenty of stuff from the senior. India had won the ODI series before going down in the T20Is.

“It was a very exciting experience for me. Just being a part of the group. I was really excited to be there and was just looking to learn and improve,” Devdutt Padikkal said in a video on RCB’s YouTube channel.

“For lots of us, it was our first tour with the Indian team, and everyone just wanted to pick up whatever they can from each other and the senior players in the squad. It was a really good experience overall,” he added.

The opener has been in sublime form for the past year. He was RCB’s leading run-scorer in the IPL 2020 in the UAE, with 473 runs at 31.53. In the IPL 2021, which was suspended, Devdutt Padikkal slammed his maiden IPL ton against the Rajasthan Royals.

In between the two seasons, the 21-year-old had a record-breaking Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring 737 runs at a freakish average of 147.

Meanwhile, RCB have landed in Dubai on Tuesday and are currently in quarantine in their hotel. The squad will start training from September 6 onwards. Virat Kohli’s team, who are sitting at the third spot with 5 wins in 7 matches, will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on September 20 in Abu Dhabi.

Also Read: ICC Test Rankings: Joe Root Becomes No. 1 Batsman, Rohit Sharma Overtakes Virat Kohli