Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Devdutt Padikkal has been one of the most improved players in IPL 2026. The rejuvenated southpaw has been a revelation for the defending champions as a reliable presence at number three.
He has scored 412 runs in 12 innings in the 2026 season, with three half-centuries, and is coming off the back of a dominant season in the domestic circuit. He was the second-highest run scorer in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 725 runs at a whopping 90.62 average. He also scored 543 runs at an average of 60.33 in the later leg of the Ranji Trophy, as Karnataka made the final.
The Karnataka cricketer scored four centuries and two half-centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and notched up a marathon 232 in the semifinal against Uttarakhand in the Ranji Trophy.
Padikkal spoke of the work he put in with coach Andy Flower and batting coach Dinesh Kartik in making the technical adjustments needed to transition smoothly from red ball to white ball cricket.
“I made several changes to my batting technique with the help of Dinesh Karthik and Andy Flower. I needed to adjust a few things to shift from red-ball to white-ball cricket. It’s not easy because both formats demand different technical approaches. So, I worked on those technical adjustments,” Padikkal said, speaking on JioStar.
Batting with Virat made a difference in my growth: Padikkal
What has been most notable about the Coorg-born in 2026 is his strike rate of 173.10. He has played with much more aggressive intent, reflected in his batting. He has struck at 183.5 against pace, but perhaps his biggest improvement is his strike rate of 152.5 against spin, higher than his 131.6 from 2025. He stated that he worked on his intent of scoring runs, breaking off his fixed template, trying to score off every ball.
“Mentally, I had to bring more intent into my game. In earlier seasons, I had a fixed template for starting my innings. I had to break away from that and try a different approach. I needed to go out with the mindset of looking to score off every ball. Once I did that, the results started showing,” he added.
