Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar has reckoned that he “won’t be surprised” if Devdutt Padikkal represents the Indian national team in the near future. The youngster played a blistering knock of 101* off 52 deliveries to guide the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to a 10-wicket win over the Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.
The 20-year-old won the Emerging Player award in IPL 2020 as he helped the RCB reach the playoffs. He had amassed 473 runs in 15 games at an average of 31.5, scoring five half-centuries in the process. Padikkal has been scoring runs for fun in the Domestic circuit. Gavaskar feels Padikkal possesses all the skills needed to succeed at the international level.
“Won’t be surprised if he (Devdutt Padikkal) plays for India in any of the formats because he has got the class and the ability to do that. He is a heavy scorer in first-class cricket and Ranji Trophy as well gets big hundreds,” said Gavaskar.
“In 50-overs cricket, he gets lots of runs and hundreds. Here, in the T20 domestic tournaments, he got lots of runs. So, I won’t be surprised if he is there sooner rather than later,” he added.
The 71-year-old also praised Karnataka’s cricket set-up and highlighted how the Indian state has produced terrific batsmen over the years. Over the years, Karnataka has produced some of the finest players, including the likes of Gundappa Vishwanath, Rahul Dravid, KL Rahul, among others, who have gone on to represent India at the highest level.
“Karnataka has always produced a terrific line of batsmen. Gundappa Vishwanath, Rahul Dravid… then KL Rahul. And if KL Rahul, you know, some of the stars need to believe in themselves a little bit more. Sometimes you get the feeling that he doesn’t believe in himself,” Gavaskar stated.
“He is such a talented player And there is Mayank Agarwal, there is Karun Nair who got a triple hundred, he also needs to get his act together. It’s a terrific batting line-up Karnataka have. And Devdutt Padikkal is another one in that long line of batsmen who have delighted the Indian cricket lovers,” he concluded.
With four wins from as many outing so far, RCB are among the favorites to secure a playoff spot after winning their first four IPL 2021 encounters. Virat Kohli and his men will now take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.