IPL 2025: Devdutt Padikkal credits captain Rajat Patidar for RCB's brilliant start

9 months ago

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Devdutt Padikkal has credited captain Rajat Patidar for his side's impressive start in the ongoing IPL 2025 after the 12-run win over MI.

Transcript

00:00Coming in at number three, obviously there is a role that has been given to me.

00:04I feel in T20 cricket these days, everybody pretty much has the same role, to go out and

00:10hit from ball one.

00:11So that doesn't really make any difference in terms of what I have to do as well.

00:14So yeah, that's how it's been going and hopefully I can carry on the same way.

00:20And coming to Rajat, yeah, definitely he's doing a remarkable job, to be captaining for

00:26the first time in the IPL and the way he's been handling himself on and off the field.

00:31And then coming out to bat and doing the job day in and day out, it's really commendable.

00:38That is actually true.

00:39I don't attend bowlers' meetings.

00:40But I am aware that a lot of left-hand pacers have bowled to Rohit in the past and had success

00:47against him.

00:48So I'm sure that was the thinking behind that move.

00:53But of course, at the end of the day, you have to go out there and execute that plan.

00:57And I feel Rajat did that well.

00:58Yes, sir.

00:59Hi, Devdutt.

01:00I wanted two perspectives from you.

01:01One, you were involved in a partnership with Kohli.

01:02So what was the chat around when you were around in the middle?

01:03And then when you went off field, when Patil Dhar was batting, what messaging was being

01:04sent in?

01:05What were you getting in response about his innings, the conditions, et cetera?

01:06So Kohli, Patil Dhar, and the conditions.

01:07Like I said earlier on, I'm not going to go into the details.

01:08It doesn't matter what the conditions are, who is batting with who, it does not matter

01:31at all and who we are facing, even that.

01:34So the plans were clear.

01:36We had to try and put some pressure on them in the power play and then carry on that momentum.

01:41And I feel once we had the power play that we had, Rajat and Virat again carried on that

01:46momentum really well.

01:47Yes, sir.

01:48Dev, what was the talk in the middle between Hardik and Dilip about pulling things back

01:49for your right?

01:50Not sure, because I wasn't in the middle.

01:56I was sitting in the dugout.

01:59But from the outside, it was all pretty calm.

02:02Everyone in the dugout understood that our bowlers have got that ability and pedigree

02:07to come back into that game.

02:08Obviously, they batted really well in that phase and they were looking like they would

02:13take the game away.

02:14But our bowlers got it back very well.

02:15Yes.

02:16This one has come for us, that we have had a certain number of years of not winning against

02:44Mumbai Indians on this particular ground.

02:46It doesn't matter who we are playing and where we are playing at.

02:48So that was the same way when we were playing CSK.

02:51It was the same when we played KKR.

02:53And it's the same now that we have played MI and MI.

02:56So like I said, it's important that we take every game at a time and try and win each

03:01and every game, because you never know where the momentum takes you in this tournament.

03:05So yeah, I really feel that we went out there, wanted to win, and we got that.

03:10Yes.

03:11Yeah, second half of the question.

03:12Sorry, I missed out.

03:14At any point, did you feel that the game was slipping away, despite having Pulak?

03:17Yeah, definitely.

03:18You know, when they were going like that, Hardik and Tilak, they were batting beautifully

03:22and definitely felt like they were really, you know, dominating the game at that point.

03:27And I feel Bhuvi, the over that he bowled when he did made a huge difference for us

03:31and I credit him.

03:33What do you hope to learn from batting with Virat or being in the same room, training

03:39together, and also from the chats with the other opponents and some of the achievers?

03:47Obviously, batting with Virat is a pleasure and he's done this over and over again for

03:55so many years.

03:56So that's the level of consistency that you aim for as a young cricketer playing the IPL.

04:02He makes it look easy, but it isn't that easy, to be honest, to come in every single year

04:07and get above 400, 500 runs.

04:09So obviously, as youngsters in the team, we are looking to learn that from him.

04:13And IPL in general has so many, you know, great cricketers who have had so much success

04:18over the years.

04:19So each time we play a match against any of them, it's a learning experience.

04:23Yes.

04:24There have been too many team changes, such frequent team changes.

04:29Personally for you, how difficult or how different has it been to cope with all these challenges

04:35and what have you done pre-season to ensure that it ends up being a happy homecoming for you?

04:41Yeah, it's definitely challenging when you are not settled in any side.

04:47As a 21-year-old, I was in RCB and when I made that move to another franchise, it was

04:53a little uncomfortable, obviously.

04:55I wasn't very confident about myself and it took me three, four years to really find

05:00what I am as a cricketer in IPL.

05:03So it's not that easy, you know.

05:05Like, you try your hardest, but at times it just doesn't work.

05:09So coming into this season, obviously, I had to work really hard.

05:13I knew there were things that I needed to improve on.

05:15There were lots of aspects of the game that I wasn't up to the mark, I felt, in the last year.

05:21So I had a good couple of months before the IPL started and I feel all that hard work

05:26is coming into effect now.

05:46Yeah, I feel the planning has been really clear this season.

05:49Everyone understands what their roles are in the side.

05:53And when you have that clarity coming into an IPL game, I think it's very important

05:57because everything is pretty frantic in an IPL game.

06:0120 overs goes by pretty fast.

06:03So it's important that everyone understands what they're doing on the ground

06:06because it can slip away pretty quickly.

06:08So I feel that's the biggest positive for us, that everyone understands in each phase

06:13of the game what they need to do.

06:15And as long as everyone's following that, we'll be in a good place.

06:45Honestly, it's not ideal.

06:48I've always enjoyed fielding and that's something I've always wanted to do in every single game.

06:54I feel I can make that difference when I'm on the field.

06:57But the team is set up in such a way that I have to be the one that sits out

07:01and we have some great fielders on the ground even then.

07:03So, yeah, it's not great.

07:06Obviously, it is what it is now.

07:10It is a rule that they feel helps the game.

07:13So hopefully I can eventually start fielding again

07:17because it's pretty boring sitting out and watching.

IPL 2025: Devdutt Padikkal credits captain Rajat Patidar for RCB's brilliant start

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