Rajasthan are trying best and moving upwards: Devdutt Padikkal

Stylish left-handed India and Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal has opined that his current IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals still hasn’t played their best cricket yet.

The Royals have proved to be one of the best sides of the ongoing season thus far. Having won three out of their first four games, the Sanju Samson-led unit is sitting pretty at the top of the table.

But Padikkal believes that the team is still improving and is focussing on plugging the gaps that exist in their set-up.

Speaking to the media ahead of Rajasthan’s fixture against the Gujarat Titans, Padikkal said, “I think there’s a lot we can improve upon. I don’t think we have played our best cricket yet. But we are progressing in every game, and we are moving forward, which is a really good sign. Hopefully, we continue to improve ourselves to fill those small gaps as a team.” 

Padikkal, who usually opens the innings for his state team, has been given a different role at the Royals.

Apart from one game, the southpaw has batted at the No.3 spot, with Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal opening the innings.

For Jaiswal, it doesn’t really matter at which position he bats. For him, it’s all about contributing to the teams’ cause, irrespective of where he bats.

“It’s simple. At the end of the day, we are playing towards the same goal, which is to win the game for the team. So, it doesn’t matter which position I bat at or which position others are batting. At the end of the day, we are trying to do what is the best for the team at that given situation and just giving our best and trying to enjoy to game; that’s what we are looking to do,” said Padikkal.

Padikkal has thus far managed 114 runs in 4 innings at an average of 28.5 and a strike rate of 121.28. With Jaiswal not a part of the playing XI in the ongoing game against the Titans, the southpaw will be back to the opening position and look to make a match-winning contribution for his team.