Devdutt Padikkal Opens Up On What Helped Him Improve His Strike Rate In IPL, Says, 'It's A Mental Shift That You Need To Make'

CSK vs RCB IPL 2025: Royal Challengers Bengaluru's star batter Devdutt Padikkal reckoned that the reason why he improved his strike rate during the ongoing season was by changing his mindset and trying to work on different shots. During IPL 2025, Padikkal had batted at a staggering strike rate of 154.36 and his strike rate during the last few seasons were 71 (2024), 130 (2023), 122 (2022), 125 (2021), and 124 (2020).

“It’s a mental shift that you need to make when you come into T20 cricket where you need to understand that the game has evolved and you have to be with the times. Yes, a lot of work has also gone into the shots that I want to play," Padikkal told reporters during the pre-match press conference.

This season, the youngster has been batting consistently at the No.3 position for the Bengaluru-based franchise and revealed that role clarity played a huge role in helping him play more aggressively.

“It does help when you have some clarity on what your role is. But at the same time, you have to go out and execute that. But it’s not just having that role, it’s about going out there and working hard to execute it on the ground. During the last couple of years, I didn’t have too much preparation leading into IPLs and that probably affected my batting. So, it’s good that this year, I got that opportunity and worked on it as well on the road to IPL," he added.

Padikkal also talked about how the great start given by RCB openers Phil Salt and Virat Kohli has only made his job easier.

During the pre-match press conference, he was also asked as to whether he would feel any pressure while maintaining the momentum.

“It’s not pressure. You must continue that momentum when you go in. So far, in most games, I’ve been able to do that. But at the same time, when you have so many experienced cricketers around you, it gives you that freedom to just go out there and have fun. To be honest, when you have people like Virat and Salt at the top and you know they have some really good power hitting coming towards the end as well, it makes your job easier because you don’t have too much pressure to go long in the innings," he revealed.

Salt was ruled out from their clash against Delhi Capitals owing to fever and Padikkal revealed that he might be available for the upcoming clash.

“To be honest, he’s been in touch with the medical team. I’m not privy to what has gone on in terms of the conversations, but hopefully he’ll be back soon," he concluded.

RCB cancel nets

Continuous rains forced the Rajat Patidar-led side to end all their training sessions in their backyard on Friday and CSK too had a short session.

There are high chance that rain will play a spoilsport during the match on Saturday.