DDP cricket player: Devdutt Padikkal which team in IPL 2022

Devdutt Padikkal: Indian Premier League 2022 will be the 21-year old player’s third season of the biggest T20 tournament.

India and Karnataka opening batter Devdutt Padikkal managed to play international cricket on the back of his first two Indian Premier League seasons. It was during the tour of Sri Lanka last year that Padikkal featured in a couple of T20Is for India.

Padikkal, who was bought for his base price of INR 20 lakh by Royal Challengers Bangalore during IPL 2020 auction, amassed 884 runs in 29 innings at an average and strike rate of 31.57 and 125.04 respectively.

Despite scoring a century and six half-centuries in his first two IPL seasons, Padikkal was released by RCB as they retained only three players ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction.

Devdutt Padikkal which team in IPL 2022

In a bid to reacquire the services of one of their top-performers, Royal Challengers did initiate bidding for Padikkal in the mega auction last month. The 21-year old player managed to force RCB and Chennai Super Kings to participate in a quickfire bidding contest.

Padikkal, who had registered himself in the highest base price category of INR 2 crore, had seen his price double up when Mumbai Indians also joined the bidding process to buy the left-handed batter.

Having said that, it was Rajasthan Royals who successfully bid for Padikkal at the end to buy him for INR 7.75 crore. In what will be his second IPL franchise, expect Padikkal to partner another left-hander in Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order.

A primary reason why Padikkal is highly-rated in the Indian domestic circuit is his ability to dominate across formats. Readers must note that Padikkal averages 77.27 and strikes at 85.70 in List A cricket. In just 22 List A innings, Padikkal has already hit six centuries and eight half-centuries.