Rajasthan Royals retain Devdutt Padikkal for the IPL 2023


image-lai5qdevDevdutt Padikkal with Sanju Samson [Source: Twitter]

In a significant development, Rajasthan Royals have decided to retain Devdutt Padikkal for the IPL 2023. Notably, RR have the luxury of a plethora of top order batters; therefore, it was speculated they might release Padikkal into the mini-auction. However, in contrast to popular expectations, the inaugural champions have retained him for a whopping 7.75 crores. 

Padikkal made his IPL debut for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2020 and represented them for two years before being picked by the Royals in the mega auction. He has comparatively better numbers for RCB, amassing 884 runs at an average of 31.57 and a strike rate of 125.04. 

However, he failed to replicate the same level of success for the Royals, managing 376 runs at a mediocre average of 22.12 and a strike rate of 122.88. As the Royals had Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal, they demoted Padikkal, which played a part in his dismal performance. And now, as they have retained the Karnataka batter, it seems they will release Jaiswal to the auction pool. 


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