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Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal went unsold in the initial round of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. He was picked by his former franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) during the accelerated part of the mega auction. After two lacklustre seasons at the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), RCB have given Padikkal a consistent run so far where he has delivered with two cameos. After the win against Mumbai Indians (MI), Padikkal talked about having Virat Kohli has his mentor at the franchise. He felt overwhelmed by the opportunity to learn from one of the greats of the game.
"Working with Virat, being around Virat is something that is really special. The third year when I was with RCB in the IPL, he was designated to be my mentor in the side, and that was something unreal. It was so weird to have one of the greats of the game be your mentor for two months. It was so fascinating. The things you could learn from him, just being around him the entire day is something that I will treasure and something I learnt a lot from," Padikkal said in a video posted by the RCB franchise.
Paddikal has been given the role to accelerate if a wicket falls. In the first game, he faltered against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but contributed with a 14-ball 27 cameo against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In RCB's first home game against Gujarat Titans (GT), he registered a single-digit score. In the previous game against Mumbai Indians (MI), he scored 37 runs from 22 balls and helped them dominate powerplay overs at Wankhede Stadium.
Padikkal on his return to favourite RCB
24-year-old Padikkal revealed that he has always been an RCB fan growing up and feels better to be back at the franchise after playing for Rajasthan Royals (RR) and LSG.
"I've been an RCB fan since I started watching IPL, to be honest. I still remember coming to the stands and watching the game. We used to have those filled-up balloons to cheer on the team. I still remember having those and smashing them together whenever the match was going on. I was really young. Obviously, I didn't understand the game that much at that point, but I still understood that RCB meant something to everyone in the stadium, and I care a lot for this franchise, for this city, for this state," the southpaw said.
"In IPL, at least, you need to learn to move on from things pretty quickly. Not just in terms of franchises but from game to game. It was very hard when I was let go at that time, and now that I'm back, it's great to be back," he added.
Padikkal will be seen in action when they take on Delhi Capitals (DC) at home on April 10. Currently, they are third on the points table with three wins from four games.
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