In the high-pressure Qualifier 1 clash against the Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar played a sensational innings that helped RCB book their place in the IPL 2026 final.
After the match, RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat revealed that Rajat Patidar had once become “quite annoyed” with him after he labelled the RCB skipper a “spin-basher” in the dressing room. The comment, which was meant as praise, seemingly acted as extra motivation for Patidar, who has now developed into one of the most complete T20 batters in the tournament.
Rajat Patidar steers RCB to IPL 2026 final
RCB once again produced a dominant performance in the playoffs, and a major reason behind that was their captain, Rajat Patidar. In Qualifier 1 against the Gujarat Titans, the right-hander showcased his maturity and destructive range.
After RCB lost wickets following a strong start, Patidar initially focused on stabilising the innings. At one stage, he was batting on just 16 runs off 11 deliveries. However, once the RCB captain settled in, he completely changed the momentum of the game with a brutal assault on the GT bowling attack.
Gujarat Titans’ bowling plans started falling apart in real time as the RCB skipper dismantled one of the strongest bowling attacks of IPL 2026. Notably, Rajat Patidar is currently the franchise’s second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2026 with 483 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 196.76.
His consistency, fearless approach, and leadership have made him one of the standout players of the tournament and strengthened talks surrounding a possible India T20I selection.
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Mo Bobat reveals how Rajat Patidar got annoyed with him
Following RCB’s victory, Mo Bobat lavished praise on Patidar and admitted that the skipper has taken his game to another level this season.
“He's certainly batting brilliantly right now and has done throughout the competition. That was a really special knock today and I'm sure he'll be really pleased to have stood up in a big qualifier.”
“Any team whose captain is playing well gets greater confidence from that. We're becoming accustomed to seeing these sorts of knocks from him now. He played some outrageous shots, but also really the aggressive intent… that's leading by example,” Mo Babat said at the press conference.
The RCB Director of Cricket then shared the amusing incident from last season when his comments about Patidar’s batting annoyed the skipper.
“I remember at some point last season I called him a spin-basher and I think he got a bit annoyed with me because I was implying it was only spin. He's probably trying to prove a point to me now.”
“He's worked incredibly hard on his game with both DK [Dinesh Karthik] and Andy [Flower]. One thing about Rajat is he middles the ball a lot. Whether it's pace or spin, front foot or back foot, the ball hits the middle of his bat quite often,” Bobat stated.
“That's usually a very good sign. He's got really sound basics and a fearless intent. We've tried hard over the last couple of years to make that the identity of our team,” he added.
One thing he's really done well is picking his moments - Mo Bobat on Rajat Patidar
While Patidar’s aggressive strokeplay has often grabbed attention, Bobat believes the biggest improvement in the RCB skipper’s batting has been his ability to read match situations and pace his innings smartly.
He said: “One of the things he's done really well this year is picking his moments. I remember the game against Rajasthan Royals [RR] earlier in the season when we lost early wickets. He absorbed pressure initially and then went through the gears. That takes real discipline and sophistication in your thinking.”
Bobat pointed out that Rajat Patidar followed a very similar approach during the Qualifier 1 clash against the Gujarat Titans.
“Today was similar. After a good start from the top three, we lost a couple of wickets and he recognised that there was a moment for a mini rebuild before accelerating again. That ability to read situations and conditions, knowing when to go to top gear and when to drop down one, has been the really impressive part of his development,” he concluded.
