India batter Devdutt Padikkal was surprised to know that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) gave the opener a game right from the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Padikkal said playing for RCB right from the first game gave him the required confidence to ace the tournament.
"Simon actually came out and told me that you'll be playing the first game. I wasn't expecting it to be honest. I thought they might bench me a couple of games before they gave me a spot in the squad," said Padikkal on The RCB Podcast while speaking about his first game for the team.
"The fact that they immediately put me in from the first game gave me so much confidence. They have that trust and belief in me that I can straightaway get into the team and start performing. All you need is confidence from the management and coaches," he added.
Meanwhile, former South African batter AB de Villiers reminisced his good old RCB days and said the stint with the franchise has changed his life.
"RCB to me is family. I mean it has been a life changing 10-11 years to me. Like any other family, there are ups and downs. There are beautiful, there're amazing rides; there's a bit of everything," said AB de Villiers.
"There are good relationships and then there are those which go sour and that is all part of the fun. I look back with no regrets. I think back on my career at RCB as the most amazing years of my life.
"I have had the privilege of experiencing IPL cricket, the Indian crowd, and the Indian way of doing things for the last 15 years. Obviously growing up in India would have been interesting. Maybe I would have never played for India, who knows. It is tough to make it to the Indian team; you have to be a special player," he added.
Coming to Padikkal, he wasn't retained by RCB for IPL 2022.
The mega auction ahead of IPL 2022 will be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
(Reported by ANI)
