IPL 2021: “RCB Has Always Been My Favourite Team Because Of AB De Villiers And Virat Kohli” - Rajat Patidar

Rajat Patidar, who made his IPL 2021 debut for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), has revealed that the franchise has always been his favorite one in the Indian Premier League (IPL), thanks to the presence of captain Virat Kohli and mercurial AB de Villiers.

Rajat Patidar has played four matches for RCB so far, scoring 71 runs, with a best of 31. Patidar, who plays for Madhya Pradesh, was bought by RCB for his base price of INR 20 lakhs in the IPL 2021 auction. He has an impressive T20 career with 770 runs in 26 T20s, with the best of 96 at a strike rate of 140.25.

Lucky To Get A Chance To Play With Virat Kohli And AB De Villiers: Rajat Patidar

The 27-year-old right-handed batsman was elated after he was bought by his favorite franchise, the Royal Challengers Bangalore and called himself lucky to be playing with his two cricketing heroes in Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

In an interview posted on RCB’s official Twitter account, Rajat Patidar opened up on his experience of playing for the franchise so far, alongside Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

“RCB has always been my favorite team because of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. Luckily, I got a chance to play with them. I was nervous before meeting them, but I liked it a lot after coming here,” Patidar said.

Patidar’s best knock came against Delhi Capitals as RCB beat them by one run in Ahmedabad. During the match, the 27-year-old featured in crucial stands with Glenn Maxwell and De Villiers after RCB lost two wickets early.

“We talked about the match situation and how we can play while being calculative. We knew if we do that right, we can overcome the pressure situation. That is what we were talking about,” Patidar said about that knock.

Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid My Heroes: Rajat Patidar

Though Patidar is over the moon playing with two of his favorite players in Kohli and De Villiers, like every other Indian cricket fan, he too idolizes Sachin Tendulkar. Rajat talked about his batting heroes and revealed that apart from Tendulkar, he also saw Rahul Dravid as his idol.

“At that time, there was just one name – Sachin Tendulkar. It all started because of him. And then slowly, when I started playing, I started following others like Rahul Dravid, and, from the current lot, I like Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli a lot. I have different idols in different formats,” he added.

RCB’s match against KKR on Monday in Ahmedabad was postponed after two members of the opposition team tested COVID positive. However, with the rising cases of COVID-19 in the IPL bio-bubble, the BCCI has postponed the IPL 2021 indefinitely.

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