Difficult to keep Padikkal out of Indian team: Karthik

New Delhi, Apr 6: Royal Challengers Bengaluru mentor Dinesh Karthik believes it will be difficult to keep Devdutt Padikkal out of the Indian team for long, given the manner in which he is batting in the IPL following stellar domestic performances.

Padikkal starred in RCB’s big win against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, scoring a blistering 50 off 29 balls.

Asked about Padikkal’s composed knock at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Karthik, who is also RCB’s batting coach, highlighted his composure during a tough initial phase before opening up.

“The first thing that stands out is his determination. On a pitch like this, when runs don’t come easily at the start, many batters try to force a big shot and end up giving their wicket away. Devdutt showed great courage to stay patient when the going was tough,” Karthik told Star Sports.

“Once he got that first boundary, you could see him switch gears. He’s playing proper cricketing shots and hitting the ball with distance. If he continues batting like this, it will be difficult to keep him out of the Indian team for long. He has scored heavily in domestic cricket and we know he’s a quality player.

“What’s also impressive is the way he’s stepping up as a leader in the Karnataka dressing room. Even at 25, he contributes with his ideas and leadership, and that’s great to see,” Karthik added.

Padikkal’s innings featured five boundaries and two sixes, helping RCB reach a mammoth 250/3 after Tim David smashed a 25-ball 70.

RCB won the match by 43 runs, consigning CSK to their third successive defeat.

Former India captain Anil Kumble shared his thoughts on CSK’s early challenges in the tournament.

“It’s a massive concern for Chennai. If your two most experienced batters, Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad, haven’t fired in the first three matches, it becomes a serious challenge. The rest of the batting line-up, apart from Samson and MS Dhoni, is quite young.

“You need at least one of your experienced batters to step up and deliver a big innings. Unfortunately, in the first three games, things haven’t gone Chennai’s way. It’s still early in the season, but they will need to tighten things up quickly,” Kumble said.

During his blazing swashbuckling knock, David struck eights sixes and three four, getting his runs at a strike rate of 280.