He had a breakout season with RCB in IPL 2022.
In an interesting revelation, a state teammate of a Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star disclosed how he battled inhibitions when he received a call from the franchise to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Madhya Pradesh state team captain Shubham Sharma, who has been friends with Rajat Patidar for the past 15 years, recalls a hilarious incident about how Rajat was hesitant to accept the offer and he had to postpone his marriage due to IPL.
Given Patidar’s talent, in an ideal scenario he would have broken into the national fray much earlier. However, his life’s story has been all about so near, yet so far. He had already garnered a reputation with his batting and there were instances when former chief selector of India Dilip Vengsarkar had gone to the ground to watch Patidar play and even enquired then-MP coach Chandrakant Pandit about his whereabouts.
However, injuries and playing for a smaller state limited his chances but he got lucky as has been counselled well during career-turning moments.
Shubham Sharma revealed Patidar was hesitant to join the RCB franchise as he was called in as a replacement player for Luvnith Sisodia during IPL 2022 and was unsure if he’d get a chance to make it to the playing XI.
Sharma said in an exclusive interview with Indian Express, “Khilayenge nahi mereko, isse acha shaadi kar leta hun na (They will not play me, instead I should get married). I begged him ‘bhai tu ja 100 pratishat khilayenge (Please go, hundred percent you will play).”
Patidar eventually ended the IPL season amassing a total of 333 runs across eight innings with an impressive strike rate of 152.50. One of his standout performances was during the eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants, where he delivered a remarkable 54-ball 112. Despite RCB’s loss in the subsequent match, Patidar continued to showcase his exceptional form, contributing a fluent 58 in the Qualifier 2 clash against Rajasthan Royals.
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After missing the IPL 2023 due to a heel injury, he will look to make a resounding comeback in the upcoming IPL 2024 season.
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