Devdutt Padikkal not feeling any pressure in experienced RCB batting lineup

India Today

IPL 2025: Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Devdutt Padikkal emphasised that he is not feeling any pressure of being part of teh side;s lineupo which boasts massive experience in the likes of Virat Kohli and even Phil Salt.

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00:00When you came back to RCB this season on the auctions, how happy were you and did you set

00:18any goals and how happy are you with the progress this season?

00:22Yeah, I was really excited when I was picked by RCB again. Obviously I enjoy playing here

00:30in the Chinaswami so I was definitely looking forward to that. And in terms of goals, to

00:35be honest, I didn't set any personal goals as such. It was important for me that whatever

00:41I can do to help the team and try and help RCB win games, that's what I want to do this

00:46Devdutt, to have a specified role at No. 3 coming behind Kohli and Salt or Bethel, in

00:56whichever case, how has that helped you sort of go about your innings, compiling your innings?

01:01Yeah, it does help, you know, when you have some clarity on what your role is on the side,

01:06it always helps. But at the same time, you have to go out there and execute that. And for that,

01:12there's a lot of hard work that goes in. It's not just having that role, it's about

01:16going out there and working hard to, you know, really try and execute it on the ground. So

01:21I feel this year it's been really helpful for me, all the work that I've put in over the last couple

01:26of months and leading into the tournament as well. Obviously, the last couple of years I didn't have

01:32too much preparation leading into IPLs and that probably had an effect on my batting as well. So it's

01:39good that this year I've got that opportunity and really worked on it and as well as the role

01:44clarity as well. It really helps.

01:49Devdutt, just an addition to that question. When you come back to No. 3, more often than not,

01:54Kohli and Salt gives you a sort of flying start, scoring at 9 or 10 runs per an hour. So is there

01:59a pressure on you or how comfortable are you to start playing aggressively from the start?

02:04No pressure really, to be honest. It's great when you get a really good start. It's important that

02:10you continue that momentum when you go in. And so far, in most games I've been able to do that and I'm

02:18happy that I'm able to contribute in that way. But at the same time, when you have so many experienced

02:25cricketers around you, it gives you that freedom to, you know, just go out there and have fun.

02:29You know, to be honest, when you have people like Virat and Salt at the top and you know we have

02:34some really good power hitting coming towards the end of the innings as well, it makes your job easier

02:39because you don't have too much pressure to like, you know, really go long into the innings. And it

02:44helps when you have that kind of clarity in terms of your batting order as well.

02:47Hi Devdutt. There's been a sustained increase in your strike rate this season and sort of the intent

02:54that's there. How much of work has that have you gone behind the scenes? And has that involved a

03:01lot of power hitting and just improving the base and all? Yeah, obviously it's first and foremost,

03:08it's a mental shift that you need to make when you come into TND cricket where you need to understand

03:13that the game has evolved a lot and you have to, you know, be with the times to be honest. And

03:18yes, a lot of work went into the shots that I want to play. And when you have people around you who

03:27really help you improve that like DK and Andy and Mo as well, you know, when you give that

03:32kind of confidence to your players, it definitely helps in improving as well.

03:40Hi Devd. Just wanted to ask you, would you be able to give an update on Phil Salt? He missed the last

03:44game. Is he available at all? To be honest, he's been in touch with the medical team. I'm not really

03:49privy to what has gone on in terms of the conversations, but hopefully he'll be back soon.

04:01Devdutt, there's always, you know, when teams that you face who are almost out of the playoffs,

04:06there's always this, you know, they always try to spoil the party for the teams on top. So is there

04:12that on your mind considering that, and plus it's also CSK which the fans like to see, you know,

04:17it's quite a good encounter over the years. So does that play in your mind because they have nothing

04:23to lose and how do you approach the game? Yeah, I'm sure they'll be really motivated to, you know,

04:29win the game tomorrow as every team is in an IPL tournament. Nobody wants to lose and that'll be the

04:35same for them as well. It's going to be a big game as always, RSV versus CSK. So we have to prepare the

04:41same way as we are preparing for every other game. So we have played some really good cricket

04:45throughout the season, and there is no need to treat any game any differently. So as long as we

04:52have done our preparations well and we are completely focused on the game, I think we should be fine.

04:58Devdutt, here again. I think last time when you were with RSV, if I'm not wrong, Kohli was a captain.

05:03Yeah, and now Rajat Patithar is a captain. So can you just tell us how different are the two players

05:09from what Kohli was and to how Patithar is and now the team is also doing really well under Patithar

05:14in a very silent way? I feel the transition has been pretty seamless. To be honest,

05:19Rajat has really taken on the role pretty well and everyone, when you have a team full of professionals

05:25who understand their job and who understand from day to day what is expected of them, I feel it makes

05:30everyone's job that much more easier. So when the team is doing well and when you have that camaraderie

05:36amongst everyone, I feel everything just sits in place. And Rajat has made sure that we have that

05:43in our group and everyone's really enjoying each other's success and that's really great to see.

05:51Have you guys sort of found a formula now after that last win at home and how relieving was that

05:58win at home against Rajasthan? And coming back to the pitch, do you think something has changed

06:05from the time you've been here? Of course we really wanted to get that first win at home

06:13and we did a pretty good job against Rajasthan the last time around. But again, it's going to be a

06:18fresh game. We have to plan according to the line-up we are facing and that is always a challenge.

06:25You know, every game in the IPL is going to be hard regardless of where you're playing at. It doesn't

06:29make a big difference if you're playing at home or away because every team is really strong and

06:35every team wants to win every game. So it's going to be challenging again. And in terms of the pitch,

06:40I feel it's, I don't think it's changed a whole lot. We've just come up with some really solid plans

06:45and we have had those conversations in our meetings as well. And just having a clear idea as to what we

06:52want to do once we go out there on the pitch has really helped us in the last game for sure.

06:57Last one?

06:58See, you are a down end up in this pitch this season. But how confident you are? It looks like

07:04there is a semi-dry pitch. How do you feel it? Because even though your opponent is not in a

07:10very good position, how positive you are now?

07:14Okay, I think it's about the pitch. But like I said, the pitch has a role to play. But at the end

07:23of the day, you have to play some good cricket. So you have to adapt to how the pitch is behaving

07:29regardless of what it is doing. You know, the pitch can never be an excuse. And as a team,

07:34that's what we're looking to do. You know, just go out there and play some good cricket,

07:37try to win the game and we'll see how that goes from there.

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