Soon after his 21st birthday, Devdutt Padikkal had a glimpse of how life could be in the top order of India’s Playing XI roster - at No. 3 on the team sheet. It gets even better when one experiences it twice in as many days.
When a second-string Indian team flew to Sri Lanka in July 2021 for a brief limited-overs series, Padikkal made his T20I debut and scored 38 runs in two innings. India lost the series 2-1. The Karnataka batter soon returned to the frenzied schedules of domestic cricket with a jam-packed senior Indian top-order taking over as two T20 World Cups lapped within a year’s time.
The lanky left-hander’s national call-up was swift on the heels of his maiden IPL hundred for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, midway into his second season for the franchise in 2021. However, a blip was to follow soon.
After two seasons with his home IPL franchise, Padikkal was bought by Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022 and his performance did not live up to the billing. With evolving combinations and strategies, he was moved down to number four from his usual opening slot and he could only muster 205 runs in eight innings. His returns came at a strike-rate of 125, which drew flak from some quarters.
Pace along five months and Padikkal is back in action for Karnataka in its season-opening Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after an average run in the recently-concluded Maharaja T20.
On Tuesday, Padikkal meted out a deftly orchestrated 124* off 62 balls against Maharashtra and set up a 99-run win for his team in its first Group C game in Mohali.
It was Padikkal’s third century in the T20 format. The current Indian top-order trio - Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli (six apiece) - and Suresh Raina (four) are the only Indians ahead of him in the centurions’ list.
What would have pleased him the most would be his effort past a sluggish PowerPlay. Batting first, the Karnataka opener only made four off his first 10 balls after five overs in the PowerPlay. Padikkal then backed his power-hitting game to steer himself through the middle and death overs. He amassed a staggering 120 runs off his next 52 balls and cleared the relatively long square fences consistently with 14 fours and six sixes - his joint-best boundary haul in a T20 innings.
“Initially, it was tough for me to get going. I knew the wicket was pretty good and the outfield was fast. I wanted to ensure that I batted time on this pitch and play out the first six overs and then take it from there. I knew I could make up later on, given the conditions,” Padikkal told Sportstar on Thursday.
Padikkal went past his previous best of 122 that came in his only appearance at number four for Karnataka in just his third-ever senior T20 match in 2019.
“Over the last couple of years, batting in the middle overs is one part of my game that I have been trying to improve. I am really happy with how it’s going. Even in the IPL, playing in the middle-overs and the middle-order for Rajasthan really helped me focus and work on that. Hopefully, I can keep improving on that,” he added.
Interestingly, Padikkal’s tag of being a slow T20 batter has stuck with him despite him being the fastest Indian to score 1000 runs in T20 cricket. Padikkal is also among the quickest Indians to reach the mark in the IPL and his latest century also made him the fastest batter to cross 1000 runs in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s in 24 innings. “Everyone has their opinion and that’s beyond my control. I can only control what I do at the crease. I don’t really take notice of what people are saying about my strike rate or batting. As long as my team is winning and I am able to contribute, nothing else matters to me,” Padikkal said .
Conversations with Rajasthan’s team director Kumar Sangakkara during IPL 2022 have also helped the 22-year-old unlock new facets of his game. “We have a really good coaching setup at Rajasthan (Royals). There weren’t any specific learnings, not really. There are a lot of things in my game that I am still improving and continuing to learn, so it’s not that one thing could change my game. I have tried to absorb whatever I could from Sangakkara. Just talking to a legend like him gives you a lot of knowledge and that has helped me in the off-season,” Padikkal said.
While Karnataka suffered a setback in its second game with a 53-run defeat to Kerala on Wednesday, Padikkal said he is focused on ending the team's brief trophyless run which goes back to the 2019-20 season.
The youngster is also excited about the new ‘Impact Player’ strategy in this year’s tournament. “It’s a really interesting concept. We have just had a couple of games with it. I can’t really comment on how it will work in the IPL yet, but it will be interesting to see how it pans out,” he said.
A stroke-making left-hander with a stack of runs would not go out of vogue in the Indian batting market and Padikkal’s renewed batsmanship could be worth the investment for keen viewers this season.
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