'A lot of work has also gone into the shots that I want to play.'
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's star batter Devdutt Padikkal attributed his vastly improved strike-rate in IPL 2025 to a shift in mindset and him working on his range of shots.
This season, Padikkal has scored 230 runs in nine games with two fifties at a strike-rate of 154.36 in a big jump from his strike rates in the previous IPL seasons which read: 71 (2024), 130 (2023), 122 (2022), 125 (2021), and 124 (2020).
"It's a mental shift that you need to make when you come into T20 cricket where you need to understand that the game has evolved and you have to be with the times. Yes, a lot of work has also gone into the shots that I want to play,” Padikkal said on Friday, on the eve of the match against Chennai Super Kings in Bengaluru.
This year, the left-hander has received consistent chances to bat at No. 3 for RCB and that 'role clarity' was a big part in bringing more intent to his game.
"It does help when you have some clarity on what your role is. But at the same time, you have to go out and execute that. But it's not just having that role, it's about going out there and working hard to execute it on the ground.
"During the last couple of years, I didn't have too much preparation leading into IPLs and that probably had an effect on my batting. So, it's good that this year, I got that opportunity and really worked on it as well on the road to IPL,” he added.
Padikkal conceded that the flying starts given to RCB by openers Virat Kohli and Phil Salt more often than not has made his task that much easier.
But is there any pressure on him while trying to sustain the momentum?
“It's not pressure really. It's important that you continue that momentum when you go in. So far, in most games, I have been able to do that. But at the same time, when you have so many experienced cricketers around you, it gives you that freedom to just go out there and have fun.
“To be honest, when you have people like Virat and Salt at the top and you know they have some really good power hitting coming towards the end as well, it makes your job easier because you don't have too much pressure to go long in the innings,” he explained.
Salt had missed the match against Delhi Capitals with fever, and Padikkal said the Englishman should be back for this game.
"To be honest, he's been in touch with the medical team. I'm not really privy to what has gone on in terms of the conversations, but hopefully he'll be back soon,” he said.
Incessant rains forced RCB to cancel their net session at the Chinnaswamy stadium here on Friday, and even the Chennai Super Kings had a curtailed session.
There is rain forecast for Saturday as well, raising the possibility of a truncated match.
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