Devdutt Padikkal, who shares the same birthday as MS Dhoni (7 July), is one of India's most promising young cricketers. He made his international debut over Sri Lanka, captained by Shikhar Dhawan in T20Is in 2021. He also made his debut as a Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) player in the Indian Premier League (IPL) against Sunrisers Hyderabad. In his IPL debut, the Indian left-handed batsman, who also plays for Karnataka in domestic cricket, surprised everyone by smashing SRH bowlers to all sides of the pitch. Many cricket experts have already predicted that he will be the next great cricketer. When he hit 580 runs in the 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, he became popular. With an average of 64 runs per game and a strike rate of 175, he was the tournament's best run-scorer, with 155 half-centuries.
1. His Birthplace
Devdutt Padikkal was born in a small village of Edappal in the state of Kerala. He moved to Bengaluru when he was 11 years old, where he commenced playing cricket and training at the Karnataka Institute of Cricket. Starting his cricket career in 2014, he competed as a Karnataka player in the under-16 and under-19 age groups.
2. Loves Watching Gautam Gambhir Bat And Idolizes Rahul Dravid
Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid has been his idol and role model since he was a child as they both hail from the same state Karnataka and attended the same school (St Joseph's Boys School). Gautam Gambhir is one of the players he enjoys watching batting.
3. Began Playing Cricket At A Very Young Age
Devdutt started playing cricket when he was 11 years old. He began his training at the Karnataka Cricket Institute in 2011 after his family relocated from Hyderabad to Bangalore. Bellary Tuskers of the Karnataka Premier League selected him in 2017. (KPL). Mike Hesson, RCB's Director of Cricket Operations, first saw Devdutt in the KPL in 2017. During that season, Padikkal was named the Emerging Player of the Year.
4. IPL Debut
Padikkal was acquired by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2019 Auction, but he didn't get to play his first game until IPL 2020, where he received the emerging player award for his 473 runs in 15 games.
5. Best Batsman Award
Devdutt Padikkal won the 'Best Batsman' award by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) in 2018 for his remarkable achievements at the U19 Cooch Behar Trophy 2018-19 tournament, where he hit 829 runs and finished fourth in the run-count.
6. Karnataka's Highest Run-Getter Across All Formats In The 2019-20 Cricket Season
In his first full-fledged domestic season, Devdutt Padikkal was Karnataka's top run-getter (1838 runs) across all forms. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournaments, the southpaw provided 42.7 percent and 36.13 percent of Karnataka's total runs, respectively.
7. Vijay Hazare Trophy
Padikkal kept his good form going in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021 match, scoring 737 runs in seven innings. Soon, he joined the elite group which includes Kumar Sangakkara and Alviro Petersen, after scoring four consecutive centuries.
8. Fifty In All Formats
On his List A, First Class, T20, and IPL debuts, the left-handed opener has an unparalleled record of scoring a fifty in each of them. He also enjoys football and is a Manchester United supporter.
9. Paddikal As A Bowler
Apart from his flamboyant left-handed batting, Paddikal is also a powerful right-arm off-break bowler who can break batting partnerships at vital moments.
10. Most Sixes In The 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Tournament
He struck the most number of sixes (33) and scored the most runs (580) in the 2019-20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament, helping Karnataka win their second Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
