Sourav Ganguly opens up on Devdutt Padikkal's chances of playing for India

Devdutt Padikkal has been one of the finds of IPL 2020. The left-handed batsman was one of the reasons behind Royal Challengers Bangalore making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. He finished IPL 2020 as RCB’s top run-scorer, finishing ahead of the likes of captain Virat Kohli and batting mainstay AB de Villiers.

The highly-rated batsman gave RCB a good start in most of the games as he finished the tournament with an impressive 473 runs at 31.53 with five half-centuries. Prior to shining in the IPL, Padikkal had impressed in the last domestic season. He had finished as the top-scorer in both the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy last season.

In the 20-over tournament, he scored 580 runs in 12 matches at an average of 64.44 and a strike-rate of more than 175. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Padikkal smashed 609 runs in 11 games with the help of two centuries and five fifties. Karnataka had gone on to win both the limited-overs tournaments.

Sourav Ganguly on Devdutt Padikkal’s chances

The way Devdutt Padikkal has performed in his maiden IPL season, it won’t be wrong to state that he has definitely put himself in contention for a call-up from Team India. His record in domestic cricket further brightens up his chances. So does BCCI president Sourav Ganguly also thinks the same? Well, the batting legend recently spoke about the Karnataka youngster.

Ganguly started by calling Padikkal a ‘very good talent’ before revealing that he was impressed by the southpaw when he saw him in action against Bengal during the Ranji Trophy. Talking about Padikkal’s chances of playing for India soon, Ganguly made it clear that while it is still too early for the same, the youngster is likely to get a chance since India want openers.

“He is a very good talent. Although T20 cricket is the first step…I saw him play an innings at Eden Gardens in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Bengal vs Karnataka…Karnataka was a strong side and he stood tall. He’s got talent and time when he plays fast bowling. Let him go through a couple of seasons because the second season will be a lot harder. India want openers so hopefully, he will get his game right at the top level,” Ganguly told India Today.