New Delhi: Young opener Devdutt Padikkal, who impressed all with his sensational batting during the Indian Premier League last year, has opened up about the impact Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli had on him.
Talking about his experience batting with India captain Kohli, Padikkal said it has helped him improve his game. “He plays at such a high level. when you are batting with him, you feel you have to really push yourself and match the standard at which he plays. That helped improve my game. Batting with him, he makes the game pretty easy,” Padikkal was quoted as saying to Hindustan Times.
“He understands the game so well, when to take a chance and when to pull back, and when to really go after the bowling. When you have so much knowledge and experience it makes our job very easy at the other end.”
Asked about the experience of sharing the field with legendary AB de Villiers and Kohli, Padikkal said, “That was a pretty special experience to have. You get to learn so much from them. The kind of passion and drive they have for the game, the way they play, the way they carry themselves through the busy, long tournament.
“It is not easy to handle all that pressure, especially when the team is looking at you to take the responsibility. How they handle was great to see, and that is something I picked up from them.”
The Karnataka-born cricketer said that his ultimate goal is to play for India in the longest format and is trying to take one game at a time as far as short-term goals are concerned.
“The ultimate goal is to play for India in the longest format. In the short term, I am going to focus on each game at a time. That’s what I have tried to do in the past couple of years. It didn’t matter if I was playing IPL or a domestic tournament. I just wanted to make sure every game I play, I make an impact and improve,” he said.
The 20-year-old opener has impressed one and all with his brilliant performance in the recently-concluded domestic Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he became the first Indian to score four successive hundreds in List A cricket. Padikkal finished the tournament as the highest run-scorer with 673 runs.
