Former Indian cricketer Abhinav Mukund believes that Royal Challengers Bengaluru should continue backing Devdutt Padikkal at the No.3 spot ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026. The defending champions face a crucial decision regarding their batting order, especially as they aim to include a left-handed batter after their opening pair.
RCB secured Venkatesh Iyer for INR 7 crore in the mini-auction and brought back Padikkal at his base price, despite his underwhelming performances in previous seasons in IPL 2025 mega auction. However, Padikkal showed promise by scoring 247 runs at an impressive strike rate of 150.61 before his campaign was cut short due to injury. Mukund has urged the franchise to persist with Padikkal, citing his recent rise in domestic cricket.
“At the time of the auction last year, Venkatesh Iyer’s stocks were probably at 10, and Devdutt Padikkal was at 2. The roles are reversed now. Devdutt had a phenomenal season. He’s the one knocking on the doors of the Indian team cricket. He had a very good season for RCB at No.3. So for me, Venkatesh Iyer does not start. I would start with Devdutt Padikkal,” Mukund said on ESPNcricinfo.
Faf du Plessis highlighted how RCB’s trust in Padikkal has allowed him to play with freedom and confidence. The left-hander enjoyed a stellar domestic season, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with 725 runs in nine innings at an impressive average of 90.62. Padikkal also shone in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, amassing 309 runs in six innings at an average of 61.80 and a striking strike rate of 167.08.
“The question around him is around that strike rate, isn’t it? Last year you could see there was a lot of talk around pushing the strike rate, go in and play the game, take it on. There was a lot of confidence from the leadership group to push him because it was not his natural game,” said Du Plessis.
