Mumbai:Rajat Patidar and Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s association started on a rocky note as the franchise offloaded the Madhya Pradesh batter after just four matches into the 2021 season. Four seasons later, Patidar was handed the captaincy to end RCB’s IPL duck.
He returned to the squad as an injury replacement in 2022, scored 333 runs, including a century in the Eliminator, and never looked back.
If one thought the pressure of captaincy would bog him down, he has shot down that notion. He is leading RCB’s charge through the middle overs, ensuring they don’t lose the momentum gained through the brisk starts given by their top three of Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, and Devdutt Padikkal.
RCB management believed in his ability and he was the only batter alongside Kohli to be retained by them for this season.
Barring the match against Gujarat Titans, the 31-year-old has made meaningful contributions. He scored a 16-ball 34 to close out the match against KKR, top scored with a 32-ball 51 against CSK, and helped them post a fighting total. Then came Monday’s knock against Mumbai Indians, a 32-ball 64 which guided RCB to 221/5.
While Patidar has been placed at No. 4 to take on the spinners, he can go after the pacers as well. He took Hardik Pandya to the cleaners, scoring 33 runs off 12 balls against the MI skipper.
Eyebrows were raised when Patidar was announced as the skipper, but those who have followed his trajectory in domestic cricket would vouch for him.
He has been on top of his game captaincy-wise, diminishing the pre-season apprehensions regarding his ability to step into the shoes of Kohli and Faf du Plessis. On the field, Patidar has been given a free hand to marshal his resources. RCB will hope that Patidar’s lucky charm will carry them over the line this time around.
