Devdutt Padikkal walked out at the Chinnaswamy on April 24 looking like a different cricketer to the one Royal Challengers Bengaluru recruited two seasons ago, and by the end of his 20-ball assault on Gujarat Titans there was no doubt he had become one.
Padikkal smashed 55 from 20 deliveries to set RCB's chase in motion, his half-century fashioned with the kind of intent the franchise has spent years trying to coax out of him. The strokeplay was familiar — silky drives through cover, whipped clips off the pads — but the tempo and shot selection were not. Where the old Padikkal would settle, the new one attacks first ball and dares the bowler to adjust.
The reset has not happened by accident. ESPNcricinfo's match analysis described the innings as the unveiling of a "belligerent and exciting new version of himself," framed by technical tweaks made over the off-season and through the early weeks of IPL 2026. Padikkal has narrowed his stance, brought his bat speed up, and committed to a stricter pull-shot trigger that turns the short ball from a problem into a scoring zone.
The partnership with Virat Kohli has been a quiet engine of the change. Kohli's 81 off 44 supplied the headline numbers, but it was Padikkal's willingness to take the powerplay risks and shift the strike that allowed the senior batter to settle. The Sports Today post-match panel singled out the same dynamic, comparing Padikkal's strike rate of 275 with the sub-150 numbers being posted at the other end of the ground by some of Gujarat's young batters.
Padikkal's role within the dressing room has shifted with the form. Coach Andy Flower has trusted him with the new ball against pace and spin alike, and head coach Daniel Vettori has reportedly told him not to play himself in. The license has produced four powerplay scores above a strike rate of 175 in the past month, and Padikkal's overall IPL 2026 average sits comfortably north of 40.
For RCB, who have now climbed to second on the table, the shift gives them something they have rarely possessed: two genuine three-figure threats at the top, with Kohli no longer carrying the early overs alone. For Padikkal, the 20-ball blitz is a reintroduction. The talent was never in doubt. The new version is finally one that the bowlers cannot bowl through.
