3 reasons why RR must drop Devdutt Padikkal from their playing XI 

After their slim defeat against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), Rajasthan Royals (RR) are set to host Delhi Capitals (DC) in Match 11 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The upcoming game will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday, April 8.

Last year's finalists, RR will head into the encounter with one win and a loss on their backs. After kicking off their campaign in a terrific manner against Sunrisers Hyderabad, RR succumbed to a poor display of batting against PBKS. None of their batters went on to score big, including Devdutt Padikkal.

The 22-year old delivered a placid knock when the required rate was high and scored only 21 runs, that too, off 26 balls. He smashed just a solitary boundary and batted at a strike rate of 80.77.

In the previous outing, Padikkal was rattled by the sheer pace of Umran Malik and was dismissed fo 2, when three of the other RR batters scored fifties each.

With Padikkal enduring a tough time with the bat, let's discuss three reasons why he must get dropped from Rajasthan's starting XI ahead of their game against Delhi on Saturday.

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#1 Devdutt Padikkal s not a No. 4 batter

Devdutt Padikkal in action for RR [IPLT20]

When Rajasthan splashed ₹7.75 crores at Devdutt Padikkal at the IPL 2022 mega auction, it came as a bit of a surprise given they had two first-choice openers in Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler in their ranks.

This meant Padikkal played in the middle order for the majority of last season and has started this time as well. Unfortunately for him, Jaiswal has been providing a quick start to the Royals, while also registering a fifty against SRH.

The Karnataka batter has notched up seven half-centuries and a hundred while playing as an opener in the IPL. However, he has even failed to score a single fifty as a middle-order batter.

As long as Jaiswal is racking up good numbers as an opener for RR, Padikkal might have to wait for his chance to bat up the order.

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#2 Has been in poor form lately

An extension of point #1 would be to know that Padikkal has been uninspiring, to say the least. In his last five T20 outings, the left-hander has scored only 73 runs at an average of 18.5 and at a poor strike rate of 94.

These are some concerning numbers by a proper batter who doesn't offer anything with the ball.

From what we have seen so far from Padikkal in the IPL, the Kerala-born batter seems to be a touch player rather than a pure striker of the ball. This means that he will have a better chance of scoring runs in the first six overs rather than when five fielders are outside the circle.

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#3 Dhruv Jurel deserves a chance

Another young Indian talent burst onto the scene when Rajasthan locked horns with Punjab on Wednesday. Dhruv Jurel, who came in as an impact substitute for Yuzvendra Chahal, went berserk from ball one and displayed his mettle under immense pressure.

With his team at 124/6 in a chase of 198, Jurel scored 32* from just 15 balls and clobbered three fours and two sixes in the process.

While RR lost the game by just five runs, had Jurel faced more balls, things could've been different for Rajasthan.

Jurel has been a part of RR since last year and his previous innings showed that he deserves a chance in the upcoming games as well.

It remains to be seen whether management will give a longer rope to Padikkal or slot in Jurel or even Riyan Parag at No. 4 in their next game against Delhi.