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XtraTime Web Desk: 20 year old Devdutt Padikkal is already creating ripples in domestic cricket circuit. The batting sensation from Karnataka is waiting to take on the world by storm as he awaits to make his debut in the upcoming 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL 2020). The uncapped cricketer from Bangalore has garnered a lot of attention after his exploits in the domestic circuit last season. Devdutt will be hoping to make his debut for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2020.

Hailing from Edappal in Kerala, Debdutt’s family shifted from Hyderabad to Bangalore in 2011. He began training at the Karnataka Institute of Cricket from 2014, before getting an opportunity in the Karnataka U16 & U19 sides. He was roped in by the Bellary Tuskers in the Karnataka Premier League (KPL) in 2017.

Following his steady progress in the age level cricket, the India U19 aspirant got selected for the senior state side in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy seasons. He caught everyone’s attention with his stupendous debut in 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he was the leading run scorer with 609 runs in 11 matches. He also had a great run in the Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy where he aggregated 580 runs in just 12 T20 games. He scored one hundred and two fifties as a 19 year old, which reflected his incredible talent. The youngster has already left his imprint in a star-studded batting line-up that has KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair in their ranks.

Following his impressive outings in domestic circuit, Royal Challengers Bangalore picked him from the player auction in 2018. Although he batted in the middle order in Karnataka Premier League (KPL), he can also be tried at the opening slot. With RCB having had issues with their opening pair, if Padikkal gets going for them this year, it will erase a lot of headaches for the management. With a star studded batting lineup that includes the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, young Debdutt will be eyeing to make an impression in his debut IPL season. Let’s hope he has a successful outing for RCB.