Rajat Patidar: RCB's captain cool, whose strength lies in his calmness

TimesofIndia.com in Dharamsala: For a long time, Rajat Patidar's career seemed defined by one phrase: "so near, yet so far."

The swashbuckling batter was scoring heaps of runs in domestic cricket with little recognition. After a poor IPL in 2021, he was even released by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and who would have thought that four years later, he would lead them to a title, ending an 18-year drought.



In IPL 2022, when RCB came calling, they reached out to him as a mid-season replacement for the injured Luvnith Sisodia. Patidar, who was playing division cricket in Indore, was not convinced because his marriage date had been fixed and he was not too sure whether he would get a chance to play or not. Luckily for him, he was counselled well by former Madhya Pradesh captain Shubham Sharma, who has been friends with Patidar for close to two decades.

"I begged him, 'bhai tu ja 100 pratishat khilayenge (Please go, hundred percent you will play),'" says Sharma.

Patidar ended IPL 2022 with 333 runs from eight innings at an impressive strike rate of 152.50. Among his standout performances was a breathtaking 112 off 54 balls against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator. Though RCB's campaign ended in the very next game, he carried his rich vein of form with a fluent 58 in Qualifier 2 against Rajasthan Royals. A few weeks later, he capped off his dream run by smashing a match-winning century for Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy final.

IPL 2022 turned out to be a game-changer for Patidar. He made his ODI debut, and the next year he received his maiden Test call-up against England. He played three Test matches without much success before an Achilles injury ruled him out. He also missed IPL 2023 because of the injury.

Talking about Rajat Patidar's journey, former India cricketer Amay Khurasia, who is also the mentor of the 32-year-old, says, "Kai baar pankh aur hausle dono hote hain magar udne ke liye aasman nahi hota (Sometimes you have the wings and courage but you don't have the sky to fly)."

Despite poor returns at the international level, Patidar has found his wings and spread them in his own sky.

Ahead of IPL 2025, Rajat Patidar's appointment as RCB captain raised a few eyebrows. But he stuck to his business, scored impactful runs with the bat and, with his tactical acumen, helped RCB win the trophy, something even the likes of Anil Kumble, Daniel Vettori, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis failed to do.

"To be honest, I don't need to do anything extra," Patidar said while answering what has changed in his captaincy since last year's triumph in Ahmedabad.

"Our management, coaching staff and senior players have a lot of experience and that is helping me a lot as a leader. I get so many ideas from VK (Virat Kohli) bhai, Devdutt (Padikkal), Jitesh (Sharma), (Josh) Hazlewood and Tim David. I think their ideas and experience are helping me a lot.

"I don't need to do anything separately. I am not as expressive as I am individually. But with game awareness, I understand situations well. I communicate as much as I can so that I can get more ideas about what we can do better. Overall, I don't need to change anything. My strength, my calmness, and the way I back my instincts, that is what I am doing."

Even though Patidar may not agree, much has changed. Not only have his locks grown longer, but his confidence has also soared. On the eve of the IPL 2025 final, when most questions were directed towards Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer, Patidar was asked about Virat Kohli and the expectations from the fans.

If last year Patidar was still learning the ropes, he now seems to have mastered the art of handling questions with assurance and aplomb.

"From the very start of the season, our focus has simply been on winning every game. If we win here, the team will get a good break before the final, which is important, and I think everyone is looking forward to that," he said.

MS Dhoni (2010, 2011) and Rohit Sharma (2019, 2020) remain the only captains to lead their teams to back-to-back IPL titles. Now, Rajat Patidar stands two wins away from adding his name to that exclusive club.

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