He has made 53 runs in last five innings.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 is set to resume with Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on May 17. There were speculations on the availability of skipper Rajat Patidar due to a finger injury. Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma was slated to take over the captaincy reins. However, during a practice session at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, ahead of the KKR clash, Patidar was seen in action.
The 31-year-old was batting in the nets. He took the aerial route for one of his shots.
Watch the video here:
The split is off. Just a few tapes, and Rajat Patidar is batting at the RCB nets. pic.twitter.com/NsWMr1Jtfl
— Shashank Kishore (@captainshanky) May 15, 2025
During the IPL 2025 suspension break, Patidar was seen wearing a splint on his finger. He injured his finger while fielding against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during RCB’s last clash before the break. Some reports suggested that he may either sit out for the full match or be used as an impact player during the RCB innings.
But the caption confirmed that the splint is now off. This means Patidar would be available for the Saturday clash and will hopefully lead the side for the full match.
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Patidar has batted in 10 out of 11 RCB games this season. Mostly coming in at No.4, he has amassed 239 runs at an average of 23.90 and a strike rate of 140.58. He has struck two half-centuries this season, against CSK in Chennai and the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.
In the IPL 2025 opening clash against KKR, Patidar ablazed the Eden Gardens as he smashed a 16-ball 32. Apart from these three knocks, Patidar has scored 25 runs or lower. His scores in the last five innings were – 11, 6, 1, 12, and 23.
RCB are in a comfortable position on the points table with 16 points from eight wins in 11 matches. They will face KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad at home before heading to Lucknow for their last league-stage fixture. They are one win away from qualifying for the IPL 2025 playoffs. More so, they would look to finish in the top two spots.
However, with Patidar’s lost form, RCB may find themselves in trouble. Their top order looks solid with Virat Kohli in red-hot form alongside Phil Salt. The lower-middle order is also in good hands with Tim David and Romario Shepherd. Jitesh Sharma and Krunal Pandya have also played valuable cameos so far. RCB will have to be cautious about their weak middle-order, especially after Devdutt Padikkal also being ruled out of the tournament amid injury concerns.
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