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Sunil Gavaskar has stated that he "won't be surprised" if Devdutt Padikkal represents the Indian national team in the near future. The opener played a blistering knock of 101* off 52 deliveries to guide the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a 10-wicket win over the Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.
Devdutt Padikkal has been a heavy scorer on the Indian domestic circuit in all three formats. Gavaskar feels the 20-year-old possesses all the skills needed to succeed at international level.
"Won’t be surprised if he (Devdutt Padikkal) plays for India in any of the formats because he has got the class and the ability to do that. He is a heavy scorer in first-class cricket and Ranji Trophy as well gets big hundreds. In 50-overs cricket, he gets lots of runs and hundreds. Here, in the T20 domestic tournaments, he got lots of runs. So, I won’t be surprised if he is there sooner rather than later," Gavaskar said.
Devdutt Padikkal won the Emerging Player award in IPL 2020 as he helped the RCB reach the playoffs. Last season, the opener amassed 473 runs in 15 games at an average of 31.5, scoring five half-centuries in the process.
Devdutt Padikkal is another great batsman from Karnataka: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar also praised Karnataka's cricket set-up and highlighted how the Indian state has produced terrific batsmen over the years.
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The likes of Gundappa Vishwanath, Rahul Dravid, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, and Devdutt Padikkal all hail from Karnataka.
"Karnataka has always produced a terrific line of batsmen. Gundappa Vishwanath, Rahul Dravid… then KL Rahul. And if KL Rahul, you know, some of the stars need to believe in themselves a little bit more. Sometimes you get the feeling that he doesn’t believe in himself. He is such a talented player And there is Mayank Agarwal, there is Karun Nair who got a triple hundred, he also needs to get his act together. It’s a terrific batting line-up Karnataka have. And Devdutt Padikkal is another one in that long line of batsmen who have delighted the Indian cricket lovers," Gavaskar added.
The RCB are among the favorites to secure a playoff spot after winning their first four IPL 2021 encounters. Virat Kohli and co. will next be in action against the Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.
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