Today, Rajat Patidar was named the captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at an event, making him the eighth new captain in the franchise. The India cricketer will captain the IPL for the first time in the upcoming season.
The franchise captain therefore in the blink of an eye is the top-order batsman who has played only 27 matches for RCB in three seasons.
Having debuted in 2021, Patidar was ditched by RCB after just one season; he’d not impressed in the four matches he’d been featured in, scoring just 71 runs at 114.51.
He went unsold at the 2022 auction, but as luck would have it, with RCB losing Luvnith Sisodia to injury, he was roped in midway through the season. And, as it turns out, that was when it all changed.
RCB’s mid-season signing turned things around at the stage it mattered. Against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022’s Eliminator clash, Patidar scored 112 not out off 54 balls to help RCB clinch the match. He hadn’t made his India debut then and subsequently became the first uncapped player for India to score a century in an IPL playoff.
Patidar got that century in 49 deliveries and it was joint-quickest with Wriddhiman Saha in an IPL playoff.
He wrapped up that season with 333 runs in eight games at an average of 55.50, and this time RCB had, as expected, retained him for the next season. Sadly, an injury to his heel meant he was unable to play in IPL 2023: however, he returned in the following season.
Ahead of the IPL mega auctions, Patidar was one of three players to be retained by RCB.
Rajat Patidar’s International Career:
| Format | Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 3 | 63 | 32 | 10.5 |
| ODIs | 1 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
Rajat Patidar’s Domestic Career :
| Format | Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 3 | 63 | 32 | 10.5 | 0 | 0 |
| ODIs | 1 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| First-Class | 68 | 4738 | 196 | 43.07 | 13 | 24 |
| List A | 64 | 2211 | 158 | 37.47 | 4 | 13 |
| T20s | 75 | 2463 | 112* | 38.48 | 1 | 24 |
Rajat Patidar’s IPL Career :
| Matches | Runs | Highest Score | Average | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 799 | 112* | 34.73 | 1 | 7 |
