Devdutt Padikkal has got an imposing way of batting like Matthew Hayden: Chris Morris

South African all-rounder Chris Morris compared young Indian batsman Devdutt Padikkal’s style of batting to that of the legendary Matthew Hayden. Morris and Padikkal are currently a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Padikkal came to the fore after he performed brilliantly in the 2019-20 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. The Challengers handed him his maiden IPL cap this year after buying him in the auction for the 2019 edition. Speaking on him, Morris said that Padikkal has a technique similar to Hayden.

Devdutt Padikkal has definitely got something, says Morris

“Devdutt Padikkal, batting with Aaron Finch, he has been incredible. He has got a similar imposing way of batting like Matthew Hayden. Obviously, he has not got the size of Hayden. Hayden has a huge chest. But he definitely, has got a similar technique and hits the cricket ball.

“The way he moves on the field, the way he conducts himself all the time. You look at him, he has definitely got something,” Morris was quoted as saying in an online media interaction on Friday, October 23.

In 10 matches, Padikkal has 321 runs at an average and strike-rate of 32.10 and 134.41 respectively. The southpaw also has three half-centuries to show for his efforts and has been one of the reasons behind RCB’s decent run thus far in the league stage.

Morris missed the first half of the tournament due to a side strain. But after making the eleven, the speedster has nine wickets from five games at an economy of five runs per over. As per the pacer, the break due to the COVID-19 pandemic helped him rejuvenate himself, both physically and mentally.

”The break (due to COVID-19) was really nice both for the body and mental freshness. Good to be playing again and it is just a lot of clarity and how the execution needs to be,” he stated.

Morris also found it tough to understand why a bowler like Navdeep Saini didn’t get a chance while being in the Delhi Capitals (DC) “What has impressed me about the Indian pacers is the amount of work they put in. They bowl and bowl and bowl,” he added.