Batting great Brian Lara heaped huge praise on Royal Challengers Bangalore opening batsman Devdutt Padikkal. Lara backed Padikkal to do big things in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League.
Padikkal slammed 473 runs in 15 matches for RCB last season as he impressed many with his performances. He was named the emerging player of the season for his solid show at the top for Bangalore.
Lara called Padikkal a great talent and talked about his performance in the last season for RCB.
“He’s (Padikkal) such a great talent. Last year he got a couple of fifties, he batted well, he supported Virat Kohli very well,” Brian Lara said at Star Sports’ Show Select Dugout.
The former West Indies skipper further said he wants Padikkal to score a couple of triple-figure scores in IPL this season.
“What I want to see in 2021 IPL is for him to go on and get a few man of the matches and get a couple of triple figures under his belt. Such a great little player!” Lara said.
Stealth as a tiger 🐯, smooth as a glider 😎#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/9Zn2wyJQ3q
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 16, 2021
Padikkal set new benchmarks in Vijay Hazare Trophy this season with 737 runs as he finished second on the list of most runs in a season in the tournament’s history.
“A few little things to iron out. I hope he did that in the break and comes back really storming hard for this IPL,” added Lara.
Padikkal has a new opening partner in Virat Kohli for this season in RCB. Last year, Padikkal opened most of the innings alongside Aaron Finch. With Kohli at the top, Padikkal is getting some extra freedom to play his shots.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will next face Kolkata Knight Riders in their next match of IPL 2021 on Sunday in Chennai.
