Emerging player award

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Indian cricketer Devdutt Padikkal has admitted that returning to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 proved to be a turning point in his career, as it gave him clarity about the kind of cricket he wanted to play.

In 2025, Padikkal played a crucial role at the top of the order for RCB, scoring 247 runs in 10 matches at an impressive strike rate of 150.61. In 2026, he scored 111 runs in just two games at a strike rate of 201.82.

"I feel that auction was probably the turning point of my career in a lot of ways. I was at that stage of my career where I needed to really commit to the type of cricket I want to play, the kind of cricketer I wanted to be. And coming back to RCB paved my path towards the brand of cricket I wanted to play," Padikkal said in a video released by RCB on X.