Bengaluru, September 21: Devudtt Padikkal has been in talks for a while as a precocious batting talent and the left-hander vindicated them to a large extent while notching up a fifty for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2020 on Monday (September 21).
That it was Devdutt's debut IPL match had only added more sheen to the feat. So, who is Devdutt Padikkal? Here is a quick profile.
1. The origin
Devdutt is a 20-year-old batsman based in Bangalore and his parents - Ambili Padikkal and Babu Kunnath - are from Edapal, Kerala. They were working in Hyderabad before moving and settling in Bypanahalli, a suburb in Bengaluru. Devdutt began to pursue cricket seriously at the age of 11.
2. The first sighting
Devdutt shot into prominence in 2017 when he made a 72 off 53 balls for Bellary Tuskers in the Karnataka Premier League (KPL). Then he garnered 829 runs in Cooch Behar Trophy in 2018 and ended up as the fourth highest run-getter, giving him headlines nationwide.
3. The records
Devdutt holds a unique record of scoring fifty in all his debut when he made 7 and 77 against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy in 2018. In 2019, he made a 58 against Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament and then made a 53 against Uttarakhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Devdutt continued the trend in the IPL too as he made 56 against Sunrisers on his debut for Royal Challengers. Devdutt has also played a few matches for India U-19 and toured Sri Lanka with the Indian colts and returned with some good scores from that trip.
4. IPL 2020
Devdutt landed a deal with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2019. It was a pleasant surprise for local fans too as the RCB had seldom signed Karnataka cricketers. All the frontline state players like KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Robin Uthappa, J Suchith etc are playing for other teams.