Devdutt Padikkal names Gautam Gambhir as his cricketing role model

Young Karnataka batsman Devdutt Padikkal has been in news for some of his recent domestic performances. He will also be partnering with Virat Kohli as the opener of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming IPL 2021. However, the southpaw could miss a few matches at the beginning of the IPL as he was tested positive for COVID-19. 

In the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021, he scored 737 runs in seven matches at an outstanding average of 147.40. In the 2020 season of the IPL as well, which was also his debut season, he notched up 473 runs in 15 IPL matches. These performances have put him knocking at the doors of the Indian selectors. 

During a recent interaction, he was asked about his role model. While answering the question the young batsman said that he looks for inspiration from almost every cricketer who plays for India. He also mentioned Gautam Gambhir’s name while answering the question. 

I take inspiration from every cricketer who has played for India: Devdutt Padikkal

“For me, there is not one individual who has inspired me. Every person has a separate story and everyone really has gone through with some things to get there in their career. I take inspiration from every cricketer who has played for India because getting there is not easy at all. It takes a lot to get there. They have done a lot to reach that level and contributed to the country,” Padikkal was quoted saying by Times Of India (TOI). 

Talking further, Padikkal talked about how he watches the videos of Gambhir, who was also a left-handed opener. “But my role model is Gautam Gambhir in cricket. I have grown up watching him bat. I still watch his videos. I still love his batting. Gambhir is my cricketing role model,” Padikkal added. 

Padikkal has been looked at as a prodigal young player since he was a 13 or 14-year-old. During the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the left-hander had scored four consecutive hundreds. According to the well-placed sources, the in-form batsman has been put in quarantine for now and will join the biosecure bubble of RCB as soon as his tests are proven negative. 

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