"I'm really looking forward to playing under KL and his guidance" - Devdutt Padikkal on his switch to LSG ahead of IPL 2024 

Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) latest acquisition Devdutt Padikkal spoke about his recent franchise switch and expressed his eagerness to play under skipper KL Rahul as well as head coach Justin Langer.

The Lucknow Super Giants came to an agreement with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) regarding a trade move that saw right-arm pacer Avesh Khan move to the Sanju Samson-led outfit.

Both players were struggling with their roles in their previous franchises, and the trade move comes across as a great opportunity for them to give a boost to their respective careers.

Devdutt Padikkal was seen in the LSG jersey for the first time and he had a few words to share as well. In a video shared by the LSG Twitter handle, Padikkal said:

"First of all, I would like to say thank you to the management at the Lucknow Super Giants for giving me this opportunity to represent their franchise. I'm really looking forward to playing under KL and his guidance and I always enjoyed batting with him as well. So, I am looking forward to it again."

Padikkal continued:

"I also had a chat with JL (Justin Langer) and I can tell that he is really committed and I am looking forward to learning a lot from him as he is such an experienced coach and he has achieved a lot in his career as well. So, I am looking forward to joining this journey of the Lucknow Super Giants. Over the last couple of years, they have been really great and they are already on the up. So, I am really looking forward to that and playing at the Ekana Stadium and really giving the fans something to cheer about."

KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal hail from the same domestic side, Karnataka, and have opened the batting on several occasions across formats.

Devdutt Padikkal has scored 1527 runs in the IPL from 57 innings

The left-arm opening batter had forged a solid chemistry with Virat Kohli at the top of the order for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). However, he was not retained by the side ahead of the mega-auctions in 2022 and was roped in by the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

He looked far from ease in a role down the order with RR and struggled to make an impression. The batter struggled for runs, especially in the 2023 edition, leading him to be traded to LSG for Avesh Khan in return.

He has scored 1527 runs in 57 innings in the IPL so far at an average of 27.65 and a strike rate of 125.39.