Devdutt Padikkal in IPL 2020.
Though Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) failed to lay their hands on the silverware in yet another IPL edition, the franchise was gifted with a prolific youngster in the form of Devdutt Padikkal. Padikkal, 20, also bagged the IPL 2020 Emerging Player of the Year for his consistent performances.
Proving his worth with the bat, the 20-year-old scored 473 runs in 15 games including five half-centuries. RCB's IPL 2020 journey ended with a heartbreaking loss against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator but with Padikkal in their ranks, Kohli's brigade will surely be optimistic about their future.
Padikkal's maiden IPL season was remarkable as he top-scored for RCB and surprised everyone with his consistency. He even finished ahead of Kohli and AB de Villiers in the list of highest run-getters for RCB this year.
Following a stellar IPL season, Padikkal, hailing from Karnataka, has spilled the beans on his cricketing idol. Padikkal revealed that former India opener Gautam Gambhir is one of his cricket idols. He also talked about his 'impact' in the just-concluded tournament.
“Did I surprise myself? In terms of my personal performance, I knew I had runs behind me and I could make an impact,” Padikkal told India Today.
“I used to enjoy his (Gambhir) batting and really liked the fact that he would deliver whenever his team would require it the most. Whenever the team was under pressure you could count on him. He is one of my cricket idols,” said Padikkal about Gambhir.
