- May 8, 2025
Just when the supporters of Royal Challengers Bengaluru were beginning to think that “Ee Sala Cup Namde” might come true for them, things took a turn. With RCB in second place in the table halfway through the season, and looking likely to qualify for the playoffs, the news broke that Devdutt Padikkal, one of their top-order batsmen, is out with a hamstring injury. Enter Mayank Agarwal—Padikkal exits, and the script flips with a new lead. On paper, this may seem like a good call; however, on closer inspection, you could think that this move is a step in the wrong direction.
Rusty Form and Lack of Recent Game Time
Mayank’s no IPL rookie—127 games, 2661 runs, a ton, and 13 fifties say he’s baked, seasoned, and still spicy. The key, however, is that he hasn’t established himself as a regular in recent seasons. In 2023, he scored 270 runs in 10 matches for SRH – somewhat decent, but not earth-shattering. Come 2024, it got even worse: 64 runs in four matches, and then it was released.
In a high-pressure situation like the IPL playoff race, momentum and form are everything. RCB are about to enter the most crucial phase of the tournament, with just three league games left before the knockouts. Bringing in someone who hasn’t been playing top-flight cricket for a good period—and even a player who was unsold in a mega auction previously—doesn’t feel like a neat strategy; it feels like a gamble. RCB needs a battle-hardened warrior, not someone feeling their way back in at a critical moment.
Misfit in the Batting Order Dynamics
A big part of the success Padikkal had with RCB was due to his left-handedness and ability to adapt to the No. 3 position. Mayank’s home is the top order where the lights shine brightest, and he writes his scripts from ball one. The stats suggest he should be there—1981 runs as an opener at a decent strike-rate of 133.31. When you push him down to No. 3 (which is likely where Mayank would have to fit in), his stats show a bad average of 21.52, which is a large difference.
Also, please don’t forget – RCB’s top order has a fair amount of uniformity. Virat Kohli is looking in good form, Phil Salt is on his way back soon, and Jacob Bethell has shown promise when he’s had limited opportunities. There isn’t any wiggle room at the top. Mayank coming in at no. 3 means he is out of his natural habitat, and that little shift at this level can mean a lot. To add to that, he has been susceptible to the moving ball, especially at the start of innings, so it is evident there are plenty of hurdles before anything reasonable can be achieved.
Right-Hand Overload Hurts Batting Balance
RCB’s batting order with Kohli, Salt, Patidar, Jitesh, Tim David, and Romario Shepherd as right-handed batters is almost entirely right-handed batters. Devdutt Padikkal, as a lefty, added that key balance to the top order. Losing him doesn’t just mean losing another top performer; RCB loses a layer of strategic balance.
While Jacob Bethell is a lefty, if he replaces Salt again, RCB has more of a right-hand bias. Left-handed batters tend to be more important in T20 matches, simply because the range of shots and they are more likely to break the rhythm of the bowler. They also provide match-up issues for the opposition; RCB’s other option to add Mayank does nothing to fix that! In some ways, it may exacerbate it!
For RCB fans, it would be great if there was a fairy tale bounce back, but unless Mayank gets back to his best quickly, this signing could end up being one of those “what were they thinking?” transactions. Do you think RCB should have taken a younger, in-form replacement instead? Or will Mayank prove everyone wrong and have the last laugh? Let us know in the comments!
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