Devdutt Padikkal experienced a career revival after rejoining Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of the IPL 2025 season. He made his debut in 2020 and won the Rookie of the Year award after scoring 473 runs in his debut season and followed it up with his maiden century the following year.
After being released by RCB in 2022 before the auction, Padikkal’s career slowed during short spells with Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants. However, RCB bought him back for Rs. 2 million in the 2025 auction, with many expecting him to serve as a team player. Under the guidance of coaches Andy Flower and Dinesh Karthik, Padikkal successfully re-emerged as the No. 3 batsman for Bengaluru.
In the 2025 season, the southpaw scored 247 runs in 10 matches. He improved further in IPL 2026, amass 111 runs in two games at an average of 55.5 and an impressive strike rate of 201.82.
This includes back-to-back fifties against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings. In a video shared by RCB, Padikkal described the 2025 auction as a turning point in his career and marked his commitment to a particular brand of cricket.
“I feel the auction was probably the turning point of my career in many ways. I was at that stage in my career where I needed to really commit to the type of cricket I wanted to play, the type of cricket I wanted to be. And coming back to RCB paved the way for the brand of cricket I wanted to play,” he said.
‘I REALLY NEEDED MYSELF’
Since his return to RCB, Padikkal has adopted a more adventurous approach, favoring power over the finesse that characterized his earlier tenure.
“When I got that opportunity with RCB, I feel like that’s the day I decided there are a lot of things I have to do and I had to really commit to working on those things no matter what the outcome may be,” Padikkal added.
His revival was evident across domestic competitions, with Karthik hints that Padikkal is now in a career dispute to the Indian national team.
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Published on:
07 Apr 2026 20:04 IST
