Uncapped Gems – Part 2:

Devdutt Padikkal, the lowest paid batsman with a century to his name in 2021 IPL

In continuation to the series on the uncapped Indian domestic players, who rubbed their shoulders with the top names in the cricketing arena and got their performance noticed in the first leg of the 14th edition of the IPL --- before the league got suspended due to COVID --- I am writing about Karnataka’s first class cricketer Devdutt Padikkal. The left-hand batsman Padikkal is playing in his third IPL, while he couldn’t get a match to play in his debut year of IPL in 2019.   

The second in the series of the ‘Uncapped Gems’ is batsman Devdutt Padikkal.

In the 14th edition of the IPL, till the time it was suspended, only three batsmen were able to score a century --- Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson, Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler and Royal Challengers Bangalore left-handed batsman Devdutt Padikkal.

Both Samson, 26, and Buttler, 30, have played international cricket for India and England, respectively, while 20-year-old Padikkal is yet to wear the national jersey in the seniors’ category.

Born in Edapal, Kerala, Padikkal represents Karnataka in domestic cricket. He represented India Under-19. He was acquired by Royal Challengers Bangalore for a contract of Rs 20 lakhs in 2019 and later retained for the same amount by the Bangalore franchise.  

Among the batsmen, who scored a century in the 2021 IPL, Padikkal is the lowest paid.  

Padikkal got a salary contract from RCB at a base price of Rs 20 lakh, while Samson got a contract for Rs 8 crore and Buttler Rs 4.4 crore.

Padikkal scored 195 runs in six matches with an average of 39 runs per innings and strike rate of 152.34.

Samson scored277 runs in seven matches with an average of 46.16 runs and strike rate of 145.78.

Buttler scored 254 runs in seven matches with an average of 36.28 runs and strike rate of 153.01.