Devdutt Padikkal Reveals A Text Message From AB De Villiers Full Of Praises For Him

Kerala batsman Devdutt Padikkal had a stellar IPL 2020 season, having plied his trade for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Devdutt Padikkal had the opportunity to rub his shoulders with some of the best cricketers like Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers, Aaron Finch, and Moeen Ali. The 20-year old went on to reveal a text sent to him when AB De Villiers applauded him for a knock.

Devdutt Padikkal bagged the Emerging Player of the Season Award for his tally of 473 runs from 15 games at 31.53 with a strike rate of 124. The southpaw slammed five fifties on the way, becoming the highest run-getter for the Royal Challengers in IPL 2020. Meanwhile, AB De Villiers also had a fruitful season, having played some of the most destructive knocks and was the lone warrior during the franchise’s knockout game when their campaign ended.

Devdutt Padikkal pointed out the time when he scored 74 against the Mumbai Indians and got recognition from AB De Villiers, who commended the youngster for playing well and asked him to enjoy his game. Padikkal noted that it was special coming from the former South African captain, who he relishes batting with. The left-handed batsman added that De Villiers makes any batsman’s job easier due to his wanting to go after the bowler from ball one.

“I remember when we were travelling back from the Mumbai [Indians] game in which I got the 70 [74], he sent me a text message saying, ‘Continue to do that and you’re playing really well, just stay in the zone and enjoy yourself’. That was really special because, coming from him, it was a great honour. I really enjoyed batting with him whenever I could because he makes your job so easy. He just takes on the bowlers from ball one and I enjoyed watching him,” Padikkal told ESPN Cricinfo.

“It was more [about] the mental side of the game” : Devdutt Padikkal

Padikkal, who spent the 2019 IPL edition on the sidelines, mentioned that it was essential to work on the mental aspect more than physical after a point of time. The 20-year old highlighted his willingness to take responsibility during the domestic tournaments when playing for Karnataka against some top-notch cricketers. He understood that he needed to do the same in IPL when again playing with some big names.

“It was more [about] the mental side of the game, because after a certain point the physical aspect is in a set place. Then it’s more about how you handle the pressure and the situation. So that’s what I was working on and whenever I got a chance, even in domestic tournaments, I wanted to make sure that I took responsibility and tried to take the team home even though there were some international cricketers in our Karnataka side. That’s something I really wanted to work on because I knew that when I came into the IPL, there will be big players around and I knew I’d want to be the one to take the responsibility,” he added.

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