"Looking Forward To Playing Under KL Rahul" - Devdutt Padikkal After Joining LSG

Young Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal shared a special message after joining Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. He expressed his delight towards the franchise’s management and said that he’s looking forward to playing under the leadership of KL Rahul. 

Devdutt Padikkal was part of the trade ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. He was traded from Rajasthan Royals to Lucknow Super Giants. He was swapped with fast bowler Avesh Khan. The left-hander has been one of the talented youngsters going in the Indian cricket. 

Devdutt Padikkal joined Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2022 for INR 7.75 crore. But he couldn’t live up to the expectations although he had two decent seasons. The batter played 17 games in his debut season for the team and then was part of 11 games for the last season. 

In the two seasons, he scored 637 runs at an average of 23.59 and a strike rate of 125.88 with just three half-centuries. The batter was demoted to the middle order, which isn’t his actual position. He was at his best during the time he opened the innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

Devdutt Padikkal revealed that on joining Lucknow Super Giants, he had a conversation with head coach Justin Langer. He also expressed his delight in playing under KL Rahul. Speaking in a video posted by the franchise, he explained: 

“Hi, everyone. First of all, I would like to thank you to the management at the Lucknow Super Giants for giving me this opportunity to represent the franchise. I’m really looking forward to playing under KL and his guidance and I always enjoyed batting with him as well. 

“So I’m looking forward to doing that again. I also had chat with JL (Justin Langer) and I can tell that he’s really committed and I’m looking forward to learning a lot from him and he’s such an experience coach he’s achieved a lot in his career as well.” 

I’m really looking forward to join this journey of the Lucknow Super Giants – Devdutt Padikkal 

Devdutt Padikkal further went on to say that he’s looking forward to joining the journey of Lucknow Super Giants. He also promised that he would give fans something to cheer about. He added: 

“So I’m really looking forward to join this journey of the Lucknow Super Giants over the last couple of years. They have been really great and they are already on the up. So I’m looking forward to joining that and playing in front of the Ekana stadium and giving the fans something to cheer about. Cheers !”

? Looking good in blue, Dev! ?? pic.twitter.com/gMMd2U8S7C

— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) November 24, 2023

Overall, Devdutt Padikkal has played 57 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and has scored 1521 runs at an average of 27.65 and a strike rate of 125.39, with 1 ton and 9 fifties.