'Being around Virat is something that is really special' - Devdutt Padikkal opens up on being mentored by Kohli

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are having a great run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) so far, winning three out of four matches. Recently, their young batter Devdutt Padikkal opened up on RCB legend Virat Kohli being his mentor and his dreams and aspirations with the franchise which he would like to achieve going forward.

Devdutt Padikkal was one of the young prodigies of RCB who was introduced in the tournament in 2020. Though he was released shortly after the 2021 season, he was bought back in the 2025 mega auction after being released by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) after a horrible last season. Paddikal mentioned that Virat Kohli was designated as his mentor in his third season (2021) with the team and also talked about how much he has learnt from the legendary batter and the two-time World Champion. Padikkal has also stated that his only dream is that the franchise finally lifts the trophy.

“Working with Virat, being around Virat is something that is really special. The third year, when I was with RCB in the IPL, he was designated to be my mentor in the side, and that was something unreal. It was so weird to have one of the greats of the game be your mentor for two months. It was so fascinating. The things you could learn from him, just being around him the entire day, is something that I will treasure and something I learnt a lot from,” the 24-year-old left-handed batter said to RCB.

“Obviously, winning an IPL trophy for RCB is a dream. Because as an RCB fan, I am sure every single RCB fan wants this franchise to have that trophy, and I am an RCB fan, and I feel the same. Every year, even if I am part of the IPL, there is always a soft spot for RCB, watching them and hoping that they succeed as well. So, if not my team, it was always that I would hope that RCB would win. Coming into RCB again, my only dream would be to win that trophy for RCB,” Padikkal added.

Speaking of Padikkal’s season so far, he might have still not found the same consistency which he had in his first three seasons with RCB but he has made some comeback in the last game against the Mumbai Indians (MI) where he played a handy cameo of 37 off 22 deliveries.