Rajat Patidar Opens Up About His Journey With Royal Challengers Bengaluru News24 –

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar in IPL 2025 has looked back at an up-and-down experience with the franchise, remembering how he felt a little upset when he was not picked in 2022 even after an initial assurance. His disappointment was transitory, though, as he was later reintroduced into the team as an injury replacement. He further went on to explain his feeling being the captain of such a big team.

Rajat Patidar On His Selection In RCB

In RCB podcast, Patidar revealed that back then, he wasn’t very eager to come back, thinking opportunities would be limited in a team with so many big names. Yet, fate had other ideas, and he soon found himself wearing the RCB jersey again.

Patidar Was Not Picked Initially

“I had got a message (ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2022) that you should be ready… that we will pick you. I had a little hope that I would get another chance (to play for RCB). But I wasn’t picked in the mega auction. I was a little sad,” said Patidar on an RCB Podcast.

Called As Replacement In 2022

“I (had) started playing in my local matches in Indore (after not getting picked in the auction). Then, I got a call that ‘we are picking you as a replacement for Luvnith Sisodia’, who was injured. To tell you frankly, I didn’t want to come as a replacement because I knew that I wouldn’t get a chance to play there, and I always feel that I don’t want to sit there (in the dugout).

“I wasn’t angry. It was like, if they didn’t pick me (during the auction), then I won’t get it (get to play). I was angry for a while but then I was normal,” said Patidar

Rajat Is Now The Captain Of RCB

Flash-forward to 2025, and Patidar is now leading the same team, a task assigned to him by no other than Virat Kohli. Though assuming the reins of a team with such a giant among them did bring with it an enormous amount of pressure, Patidar did admit that the words of encouragement and support from behind the scenes by Kohli made him less nervous.

“I had a lot of questions like, there are so many (big players) in the team. Virat Kohli is such a big player, how will you do it under him. I know how supportive he is about this (captaincy change).

Rajat Patidar Lauds Virat Kohli

“I knew I have his full support. Like I said, this is a learning for me, it’s an opportunity for me. So, I will learn as much as I can from him. Because no one has the experience and ideas that he has in every role — be it batting, as an individual and as a captain,” said Patidar.

“I have seen him (Kohli) since I started watching TV, in the IPL, off the field, in the Indian team… To take that thing (captaincy plaque) that he has been doing for so many years… and he is giving it to me with his own hands.

Virat Kohli Handed The Captaincy To Rajat Patidar

“When he was giving it to me, I was a bit worried about how to take it. I was completely blank about what to do. He told me to hold it. I held it. After that, I was looking at him like, what should I do? “Then he said a couple of words like, ‘you deserve it, you earned it’. So I felt a little bit okay. I mean when he said this to me then I became normal in that situation. I learn from him as much as possible. So I think that was a special moment… the way he introduced me to so many fans.”

Rajat Patidar: A Very Crucial Part Of The Team

Recalling the day he was formally appointed captain, Patidar describes it as one of the most unreal moments in his life, so overwhelming that he went “completely blank” when Kohli handed him the captaincy plaque. This year, Patidar has proven to be a vital player in RCB’s middle order, scoring 239 runs in 11 games as the team presses for a first-ever IPL title.

(With PTI Inputs)