Devdutt Padikkal, a young batter for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, recently opened up about his experiences in the Indian Premier League. At just 21 years old, he found himself playing for a franchise that he had a lot of pride in. However, when he was released and picked up by the Rajasthan Royals next, it was a bit tough for him. Devdutt took some time to adjust and get comfortable with the new environment.
He kicked off his IPL journey with Bengaluru five years ago. After two seasons there, he moved to Rajasthan where he played for another two seasons before he shifted to the Lucknow Super Giants last year. But this season has brought him back to Bengaluru after being picked in the IPL 2025 mega auction, and he couldn’t be happier about it.
“It’s tough when you feel like you don’t really belong to any team,” Devdutt shared during a post-match chat. “I started with RCB, so moving to a different franchise was a little awkward for me at first.” He admitted that he struggled with his confidence and it took him around three to four years to really figure out his place as a player in the IPL. “You put in all your effort, but there are times when things just don’t go your way,” he added.
Devdutt’s recent performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he scored a critical 86 runs against Haryana in the semifinal, was a highlight for him. That innings helped his team win and he even contributed with three catches in the field. He explained that he put in a lot of work during the pre-season to tighten up some areas of his batting that needed attention. “I knew I had to up my game this season. There were definitely parts of my play that weren’t where I wanted them to be last year,” he mentioned.
In the first three games of this IPL season, things didn’t go smoothly for him as he only managed scores of 10, 27, and 4. But then on Monday, he made a strong comeback with a quick-fire 37 runs off just 22 balls, even though he got out after looking promising. He partnered with India’s star batter, Virat Kohli, to rack up 91 runs for the second wicket, leading Bengaluru to set a pretty impressive target of 222 runs against Mumbai.
Talking about batting alongside someone like Kohli, Devdutt said, “Working with Virat is just fantastic. He’s been doing this for so long and consistently performs at such a high level; that’s what young players like me aspire to achieve.” It’s clear that for Devdutt, every game is not just about the runs, but also about growing and learning from the experienced players around him.
