IPL 2020: 3 uncapped Royal Challengers Bangalore players who deserve a chance in the playing XI

2. Devdutt Padikkal

Devdutt Padikkal

Devdutt Padikkal has been a vital cog of Karnataka’s wheel in the ongoing season. His partnership along with KL Rahul at the top has reaped rich dividends in the domestic circuit, and the left-handed batsman will be one of the cricketers to watch out for in the 13th edition of the IPL.

Padikkal was snapped up by the Royal Challengers ahead of IPL 2019. The Virat Kohli-led side endured a nightmarish season though, winning just five out of 14 matches, and Padikkal never got a chance to prove himself.

Still, the experience of sharing the dressing room with the legends came in handy for the southpaw, who piled up 609 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy to finish as the highest run-scorer. His superb run continued in the domestic T20 competition where he amassed 580 runs from 12 matches at a strike-rate of over 175.

The 19-year-old’s outstanding form attracted high praise from Bangalore director of cricket Mike Hesson.

“Being a local Karnataka lad (Devdutt Padikkal), this domestic season has shown an ability to step up quickly. To have such an excellent season when only 19 is very heartening for RCB for sure,” Mike Hesson said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

The southpaw could replace veteran wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel and partner Australia's Aaron Finch in the top order for Bangalore in the forthcoming edition.