New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Devdutt Padikal is no longer just a beautiful timer of the ball. He is turning into a complete T20 force. Fresh off a brilliant 61 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Pedicel, in an exclusive interview with TOI, spoke about the mental overhaul behind his aggressive turnaround, technical fine-tuning with RCB’s think tank, and explaining his role in the power-packed line-up. As the IPL 2026 season gathers pace, his ambitions are firmly set on the India jersey. This season is a battle of fearless prodigies, heavyweights and legends, and Pedicle is determined to join them.Quotes…Q. 61 in 26 against Sunrisers Hyderabad… Did it feel like a continuation of your Vijay Hazare Trophy form, or was it a conscious change in approach? IPL?It is very different when you go to an IPL game. But at the same time, scoring runs is always a confidence booster. And scoring all those runs in the domestic season definitely helped me a lot more confidence and calmness when I went out there to bat. But at the end of the day, when you go to the IPL you need to be very aggressive, and your mindset definitely changes.Q. You have gone from being seen as a classical top-order batsman to someone who can change gears explosively. What changed mentally and technically?A lot has changed mentally and technologically. Firstly, mentally, you obviously need to believe that you are capable of batting at a pace that will make you successful in the IPL, and that is something that I have had to work on a lot. I grew up batting a certain way, and making that change is not that easy. And, of course, technically, I’m done with it. Andy FlowerMo Bobat et al Dinesh Karthik Over the last couple of years I’ve had to fine tune some things in terms of my balance when I bat, the position I get before I leave the ball, and some other batting aspects. I won’t get into the technical stuff, but there’s definitely a lot that has led to where I am now.
Question With so many power hitters in Royal Challengers Bengaluru, how do you define your role in this batting line-up?It’s very clear to me what I need to do when I go out there. I need to keep the momentum going. We have some really explosive batsmen throughout the lineup. And when you have that kind of firepower, you have to make sure you don’t break that momentum. That’s what I want to do and keep it simple from there.Question You’ve had good IPL seasons before, and the India call-up hasn’t come as often as your numbers probably warrant. Does it still drive you, or have you made peace with overcoming what you can do?Of course, playing for India is the ultimate goal! And every time you score runs, you hope that you are being noticed and that you are in the reckoning to play for the country, and it remains that way. But at the end of the day, you can only control what you can do, and that’s what I want to do. Hopefully if I keep doing well and doing the right things, I’ll get there eventually.Question With a busy international calendar ahead, do you allow yourself to think about that Indian jersey, or is it a conversation you deliberately keep out of your head?Not at all! I don’t try to put it out of my head because it’s a goal I want to achieve, and that’s what keeps me going. It’s important to keep dreaming and make sure those thoughts don’t leave you. It’s important that you believe you’re going to accomplish it, and having that goal in front of me pushes me a lot.
