He Would Deliver Whenever His Team Would Require It The Most: Devdutt Padikkal Names His Cricketing Idol

Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Devdutt Padikkal had a stellar IPL 2020 season and being his debut; he exceeded expectations. Devdutt Padikkal, who won the award for the emerging player of the tournament, accumulated 473 runs in 15 games at 31.53 with a strike rate of 124. The 24-year old has revealed that he looks up to Gautam Gambhir quite often.

Gautam Gambhir, who was also a left-handed batsman like Devdutt Padikkal, was one of the most accomplished cricketers of the generation. Gambhir served as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, a franchise that lifted the title in 2012 and 2014 and performed equally well with the bat. The retired cricketer also played a significant role in India’s rise to number one in Tests and the 2011 World Cup victory.

Devdutt Padikkal revealed he enjoyed Gautam Gambhir’s batting since he stepped up in times when the team required him the most. Padikkal hailed the cricketer-turned-politician as his idol and as a cricketer, who is most reliable under pressure.

“I used to enjoy his (Gambhir) batting and really liked the fact that he would deliver whenever his team would require it the most. Whenever the team was under pressure you could count on him. He is one of my cricket idols,” Padikkal told India Today.

“I have learnt a lot with so many senior players around” : Devdutt Padikkal

The southpaw highlighted taking away plenty of learnings around the senior men in the Royal Challengers’ camp, which has changed his mindset on how to deal with the situations. The Kerala batsman underlined that the experienced players believe in keeping themselves stable regardless of the team’s performances and stick to the process instead of focussing on the result.

“I have learnt a lot with so many senior players around. It has changed my mindset as to how to deal with a lot of situations. They (senior players) keep themselves stable throughout the season regardless of how the team is performing and would focus on the process and not on the result,” he added.

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