Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have been hit hard by Devdutt Padikkal being ruled out for the rest of IPL 2025 with a hamstring injury. With their present position second in the points table, only behind Gujarat Titans in terms of Net Run Rate, RCB moved swiftly to bring in Mayank Agarwal as his stand-in for the rest of the season.
Padikkal, who had lacked consistency in earlier seasons, struck form this season at No. 3. He scored 247 runs from 10 games at a remarkable strike rate of 150.61 — his highest ever in an IPL campaign — and accumulated two half-centuries when the injury cut short his season.
In his stead, RCB have gone to the seasoned Mayank Agarwal, who has appeared in 127 IPL games and amassed more than 2,000 runs with a century and 13 half-centuries. Agarwal, who started his IPL career with RCB, remained unsold in the previous auction following a modest outing with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2024. He has now been acquired for INR 1 crore.
