A man on a mission – Dinesh Karthik on Devdutt Padikkal’s sensational return to RCB

Homecoming is always special. For Devdutt Padikkal, returning to RCB was definitely one of the finest feelings he savoured. After being away from the Red and Gold brigade for a couple of years, the feelings for Padikkal were stronger than ever when RCB picked him in the 2025 Mega Auction.

RCB’s batting coach and mentor, Dinesh Karthik opened up on how willing DDP was to play for RCB. He also highlighted how the clarity he gained after being picked for the side helped him turn into the beast he has been lately. Talking on RCB Bold Diaries, Karthik also highlighted the hard yards put in by DDP which went a long way in establishing him as a force to reckon with.

Karthik said, “The main factor was that he was very excited to play for RCB. On picking him in the first call, he said, ‘I couldn't be happier playing for any other team than RCB. I mean, I've lived a major part of my life here. I represented RCB and I remember coming and watching matches as an RCB fan.’ That's exactly what he said in his own words.”

He further added, “And that set the tone for how we looked at him and how we wanted him to achieve certain things, but it was more him coming saying, I'm here and I want to make a difference. Just tell me what I want. He switched straight away in our first conversation and said, this is what we expect you to do, this is the kind of feelings that we want you to be playing. And from that day, the first day in the camp, he actually was a man on a mission.”