Devdutt Padikkal: A young talent that’ll reach heights!
When most of us Gen Zs’ were in our middle school, a young boy somewhere was training, sweating the hoot out to make his dreams come true! Any guesses as to who that can be?
You’re right! That young boy is Devdutt Babunu Padikkal. Born on 7th July 2000 in Kerala, Dev always had a passion for cricket. His parents, Mrs Ambili Padikkal and Mr Babu Padikkal always supported him and pushed him to achieve all that his heart desires. The family moved to Karnataka in 2011, where young Dev started training at the Karnataka Institute of Cricket.
After 3 years of immense training, he finally got his first opportunity in 2014. Playing for Karnataka’s under-16 team was just the tip of the iceberg. In 2017, he played his first-ever Karnataka Premier (KPL) under Bellary Tuskers. He represented the state and moved on to play for the under-19 state team in Asia Cup. After this, no one could stop this power-packer.
Moving forward a step every day towards his dream of playing in the national team of India, Dev Dutt debuted in the 85th edition (2018–19) Ranji trophy games. One can say in order to make it to the national team, a player should play the inter-state or Ranji Games. He was handed his Ranji cap in Mysore by the then captain of Bellary Tuskers, Vinay Kumar.
A super interesting and heartwarming event happened when Jatin Paranjpe, senior Indian selector, came all the way with a sore back to watch this young talent play his first of many Ranji games. Concluding numbers showed a ‘good account of Padikkal’s batting proficiencies, putting a well-compiled 77 against Maharashtra’. (Source: royalchallengersbangalore.com)
Over the years, he has shown the consistency which is required to become a mainstay in the batting order. He was then selected in the 2019–20 Vijay Hazare Trophy where he was the top run-scorer with a handsome score of 609 runs in eleven matches. He was also a part of Karnataka’s team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy the same year, leading the state to triumph in both series. We can say that this year proved to be a major boost in his career as he was also named in India A’s squad for the 2019–20 Deodhar.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say Bellary Tuskers helped Padikkal reach where he is today. At the KPL 2017, RCB’s Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson spotted this talent and gave him the most valued opportunity of his life. Through the league, Dev has played alongside various other talents (national and international players) like, Virat Kohli (Indian captain), AB de Villiers (South African cricketer), Glenn Maxwell (Australian cricketer), Kylie Jamieson (New Zealand Bowler), Yuzvendra Chahal (Indian Bowler) a few among others. His first season of IPL made him won the ‘Emerging Player award’, as he scored 473 runs in 15 matches for the team. ‘The explosive left-handed batsman did not disappoint in his first outing for RCB. Padikkal began his stellar run against Sunrisers Hyderabad with two fours against Sandeep Sharma (Pace bowler), followed by another boundary off Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Fast-medium bowler)’. (Sorce: tentaran.com)
The second season of IPL was just as successful as he would have ever wanted! He scored a powerful knock of 101 not out during RCB’s match with Rajasthan Royals. The century was scored in a mind-blowing and one of the best partnerships with Virat Kohli. With this, ‘He etched his name in the T20 folklore’. (Source: royalchallengersbangalore.com)
A lot of credit goes to the Indian captain who drove Padikkal through losses and victories, ensuring neither goes to his head or heart. Both the mentor and mentee celebrated Dev’s century on the ground (during the match with RR). The same knock made him the third uncapped player to score a century in IPL. Appreciations from all around poured in, Kohli mentioned, “It was an outstanding inning. He is a great talent, a great one to look forward to in the future. I had the best seat in the house. I want him to build from here and really help the team. He deserved to get the hundred today, flawless innings.”
Although the second season of IPL was put on a halt due to coronavirus, Padikkal got his chances through India’s One Day International and Twenty 20 International (T20I) for the series against Sri Lanka in June 2021.
At the beginning of his journey only he has so many accolades to his name, one of them being ‘first 21st century born cricketer to appear for the Indian men’s team’. In terms of age, he is the tenth youngest player to represent India in T20Is. (Source: royalchallengers.com)
He has caught everyone’s eye and he deservingly made his position in the Indian team. Now, all of his fans (including me!) are waiting for him to show his outstanding performance once again in the rest of IPL 2021. He truly justifies ‘There is no shortcut to success. Work hard, be patient and never give up ’.
