"Not Much Attention Is On Me When Batting With Kohli": Former RCB Opener

Since his Indian Premier League debut, Devdutt Padikkal has developed a lot as a cricketer. The exposure of playing with cricketers like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers helped him a great deal. Kohli, who was leader when Padikkal burst onto the scene, stepped down as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain after IPL 2021 but has been retained by the franchise ahead of IPL 2022. The duo has batted together on many occasions in the IPL. Although Padikkal hasn't been retained by the franchise, he is expected to be involved in a bidding war during the IPL 2022 mega auction this month. Speaking on RCB Podcast, the 21-year-old opened up about how it is to bat with Kohli and also lauded the former RCB skipper.

"For me batting with Virat is very easy because all the attention is on him. As you know, all the attention is on him. I just feel like the pressure is off me completely because there is so much planning and thinking going on behind, how to bowl to him and the things you need to do to him. So there's not much attention being paid to me when I'm batting out there. So like when I'm with him, it just makes my job easier", he said.

"He's such an incredible batsman and has so much experience and knowledge of the game", he also added.

Last season, the young batter smashed 411 runs in 14 games for RCB and was their second-highest run-getter. He also registered an unbeaten century (101*) against Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Meanwhile, Kohli slammed 405 runs off 15 matches for RCB during IPL 2021.

Topics mentioned in this article

Royal Challengers Bangalore Virat Kohli Devdutt Padikkal IPL 2022 Cricket