Royal Challengers Bangalore’s opening batsman Devdutt Padikkal had a heavenly IPL 2020 season as he went on to be the highest run-scorer for his side followed by which he also won the emerging player of the tournament award. The 20-year old recently uncovered a text message from AB de Villiers himself appreciating him after that 74 run knock against Mumbai Indians.

The youngster who hails from Kerala but plays Ranji trophy cricket for Karnataka took the Indian fans by a storm as he outplayed many in the RCB camp with his stellar ability to score runs. He scored 473 runs from 15 games at an average of 31.53 with a decent strike rate of 124 at the end of the season which also guaranteed him the emerging player award, ahead of other notable players like Ishan Kishan and Riyan Parag.

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AB de Villiers Compliments Devdutt Padikkal

Recently, Devdutt Padikkal revealed how AB de Villiers complimented the RCB batsman after the 74 run knock against Mumbai Indians at Dubai International Cricket stadium. For Padikkal, it something extraordinary coming from AB de Villiers, who he, fortunately, got the chance to bat within majority matches this year.

“I remember when we were travelling back from the Mumbai [Indians] game in which I got the 70 [74], he sent me a text message saying, ‘Continue to do that and you’re playing really well, just stay in the zone and enjoy yourself,” Devdutt Padikkal said.

Devdutt also added that De Villiers’s style of play makes batting extremely simple for the man at the other end because of his sheer ability to take on the bowlers from the very first ball.

“That was really special because, coming from him, it was a great honour. I really enjoyed batting with him whenever I could because he makes your job so easy. He just takes on the bowlers from ball one and I enjoyed watching him,” Padikkal told ESPNcricinfo.

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