Chandrakant Pandit (Image Credits: Twitter)
Chandrakant Pandit (Image Credits: Twitter)

Madhya Pradesh head coach Chandrakant Pandit heaped praise on promising talent Rajat Patidar for his technique to play some of the best cricketing shots.

With 658 runs in nine innings at an average of 82.25, Patidar was the second most run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy 2022 behind Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan (982).

The quality player picks up the line and length very quickly: Chandrakant Pandit on Rajat Patidar

Rajat was one of the three batters to score a hundred in the final against Mumbai as MP gained a massive lead of 162 in the first innings to pose the upper hand against the 41-time champions. Rajat scored 122 and 30* in the final as Madhya Pradesh cruised to a six-wicket win to lift their maiden Ranji Trophy title.

Rajat Patidar
Rajat Patidar. Image: Twitter

“The quality player picks up the line and length very quickly, it is like you know he has that extra time than other players. I don’t want to compare with anyone but if I have to take a name… Rohit Sharma has extra time with his batting, you can talk about Virat, and Sachin Tendulkar, they had that little bit of extra time to pick the line and length. Rajat does too. To play the shot through the covers off the back foot, that is not everyone can manage at that pace,” Pandit said, as quoted by the official website of the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

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Rajat Patidar has realized what has to be done: Chandrakant Pandit on IPL 2022 performance

Rajat came into the Ranji knockouts fresh from his stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2022. He scored a scintillating unbeaten 112 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Eliminator game to propel RCB to 207/4.

In his previous season with RCB, Patidar managed only 71 runs off four games before he was benched for the rest of the season. Pandit, who worked with the 29-year-old, talked about the player’s transformation between the two seasons and how he adapted to the new role of an anchor at RCB.

Rajat Patidar IPL 2022
Photo Credit: (Twitter)

“One has to understand a quality player can go through a lean patch. Rajat has not been recognized by everyone. Last season (IPL)… naturally his first season, in T20, you’re obviously expected to hit every time, he has got that experience coming back this season, just before that hundred, we have seen a couple of innings of 30, 40, 50,” said Pandit.

“He has realized what has to be done. He has been in touch with me, he has been talking to me, the team has so many stalwarts behind him, he is expected to go after the bowlers, if you’re connecting the ball, then you must not stop or you shouldn’t be trying to play 20 overs to get the runs, because Maxwell… the other batsmen are behind him and they should be given enough opportunities too. That is one of the reasons he has to bat that way. It is a team demand and one has to obviously follow that,” he added.

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Patidar finished IPL 2022 with 333 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 152.75. The Madhya Pradesh player initially went unsold in the IPL 2022 auction but an injury to uncapped player Luvnith Sisodia knocked the opportunity for him.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Rajat Patidar Postponed His Own Marriage In May To Join RCB Camp – Report