IND vs SL T20: Nurtured by RCB, Devdutt Padikkal finally gets chance to shine in India colours, makes debut against Sri Lanka – Royal Challengers Bangalore opening batsman Devdutt Padikkal is all set to make his Team India debut in the second match of the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka here at the R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Wednesday. Padkikkal was one of the star performers in the IPL 2021.
🎥Big moment for the 4⃣! 👏 👏
T20I caps handed over to @devdpd07, @Ruutu1331, @NitishRana_27 & @Sakariya55! 👍 👍 #TeamIndia #SLvIND
Follow the match 👉 https://t.co/Hsbf9yWCCh pic.twitter.com/E4OzrlG4Sx
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 28, 2021
Also Read: IND vs SL 2nd T20I: India left with only 5 batsmen, Devdutt Padikkal set to make debut
The left-hand opening batsman has been a consistent performer for RCB in the last two years. In IPL 2020, the 21-year-old scored 473 runs with the help of five fifties and an average of 31.53. However, the experts were saying that his strike rate can be an issue, as he likes to take his time in the middle before playings his shots. Padikkal worked on his power hitting in IPL 2021, where he scored at a rate of 152.34. In the six matches, he played he scored 195 runs.
IND vs SL T20: Padikkal rubbed shoulders with a few of the most talented players in the world at RCB camp. In IPL 2021, he opened with Virat Kohli while in IPL 2020 he started the innings with Australia captain Aaron Finch. Padikkal won the Emerging Player Award in IPL 2020. In Vijay Hazare 2021, playing for Karnataka Padikkal registered four consecutive centuries. Padikkal managed to score 673 runs from six matches in the tournament.
“His composure under pressure was really important and at the start of the innings he was a little bit nervous but he played his natural game. It was really impressive the way he carried himself. Once his innings started to develop he gained confidence and that was great to see. Having seen footage of him plating before, he is an aggressive opening batsman and had done really well in the under 19 and domestic cricket. I am really happy that he played his natural game,” Finch had said last year.
IND vs SL T20: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Padikkal will be playing at number three as Team India is playing with only five batsmen and Shikhar Dhawan is opening the batting with Ruturaj Gaikwad who is also making his debut. To keep the left-hand, right-hand combination at the top Padkikkal was asked to bat at number three. Now it will be interesting to see how Padikkal performs in the limited chances that he will get.
Also Read: IPL 2021: 5 youngsters who can set the stage on fire in big players’ absence
