Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov 15: Devdutt Padikkal, a left-handed batsman from India, will remain with the Rajasthan Royals for the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), according to ESPNCricinfo on Tuesday.
The team lead by head coach Kumar Sangakara has given the southpaw their entire support. RR paid INR 7.75 crore (about $1 million USD) to acquire him after Royal Challengers Bangalore released him (RCB).
He scored 884 runs in 29 innings at an average of 31.57 and an SR of nearly 125 in his two seasons with RCB. He led his team with a century and six fifties. His strike rate (122.87) and average (22.11) in IPL 2022 were both the lowest of his three IPL seasons, however he was moved around the batting order, opening occasionally and batting as low as No. 4 on a few occasions.
Padikkal, who was only 22 at the time of his two T20I appearances for India in 2021, may be able to secure a berth in the top order if at least one of India’s top three decides to leave the team.
He was predicted to perform in the same manner for former champions. However, he only managed to score 376 runs in 17 games at an all-time low strike rate of about 122 and an average of 22.12.
