In a surprising turn of events, talented Indian batter Devdutt Padikkal went unsold during the IPL 2025 Mega Auction. Padikkal burst onto the IPL scene with a stellar debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2020, where he was the team's leading run-scorer. His impressive performances earned him accolades and a spot in the national setup.
Despite moving to Rajasthan Royals (RR) later, Padikkal's performances saw a dip, with inconsistent form and strike-rate issues becoming areas of concern. In the 2024 IPL season, Padikkal scored 248 runs in 12 matches at an average of 20.66 and a strike rate of 121. He made his India debut in July 2021 in a T20I against Sri Lanka and has also played for the India under-19 team.
