“Watching the IPL from home was a bit challenging” - RCB’s Devdutt Padikkal on being ruled out of IPL 2025 mid-way

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Devdutt Padikkal, who missed the business end of the IPL 2025 season due to a hamstring injury, has stated that watching the cash-rich league from home was a bit challenging for him.

Moving into the details, Padikkal was ruled out of the IPL 2025 season after playing 10 matches in the season. He could score 247 runs from 10 games at a strike rate of 150.60 with two half-centuries. Mayank Agarwal went on to replace the left-hander for the rest of the season.

"Obviously, the first couple of weeks were the hardest. Because you have to come to terms [with the fact] that you are not going to be playing much cricket for a month or so. And especially watching the IPL from home was a bit challenging," Padikkal told ESPN.

"I would have loved to be a part of that side, winning the trophy. That is the first couple of weeks and after that, again, you just switch into that zone of trying to get better," he added.

To make things more interesting, Padikkal is all set to make his return to the field for India A against Australia A in the multi-day series, which is scheduled to start on Tuesday, September 16, in Lucknow.

While the India A squad will be led by Shreyas Iyer, it also boasts players like Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Prasidh Krishna.

India A squad for Australia A multi-day series: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran, N Jagadeesan (WK), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (VC & WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey, Ayush Badoni, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar, Yash Thakur.

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