IPL 2020: Devdutt Padikkal is paired with Virat Kohli in RCB's team bonding activity

Royal Challengers Bangalore's young opening batsman Devdutt Padikkal has been paired with captain Virat Kohli in the team's 'mentorship programme', which has been introduced by the management to groom the promising talent in their camp at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

Padikkal made his IPL debut during RCB's opening fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), where the Karnataka opener scored a half-century. In his first three matches for RCB this season, Padikkal has registered two fifties already and overall, has scored 111 runs in three innings at a strike rate of over 130. Meanwhile, Kohli has still not unleashed himself with the bat, having scored only 18 runs in three matches.

RCB posted a video on their social media accounts on Thursday that featured their sporting director Mike Hesson, who took the viewers through the team's mentorship programme.

"The mentorship programme is something Simon Katich (head coach) was very keen to introduce, it's something that happens in many sports, and its something that can take place when players are keen to share their experiences. The players can exchange ideas with each other, we spent a lot of time to pick who will spend with whom, generally we have done it around the skill group. Players will be able to spend time with each other and be away from the practice. They can talk about the game, for example, Navdeep Saini is paired with Dale Steyn.

Steyn has done the job all around the world, he knows the game inside out, Saini is hugely talented, he wants to bowl fast and there was none better than Steyn to pair him with. Devdutt Padikkal is paired with Virat Kohli, there is none better mentor for a young kid, they both have a real passion to succeed. We have asked the peers (experienced cricketers) to introduce their buddy (youngsters) to the rest of the group," Hesson added in the same video.

RCB started off their IPL 2020 campaign with an excellent win over SRH in Dubai. But, Kohli's side followed that with a 97-run loss to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), which was RCB's fourth heaviest defeat in T20s. Their latest match, which was against Mumbai Indians (MI) turned out to be a close encounter before RCB won via Super Over.

Kohli's side is next in action on Saturday when they take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Abu Dhabi. As of now, RR are placed second in the points table, while RCB are in the fourth position.