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During defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL 2026 match against the Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Sunday, fans were surprised to see wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma turn up at the toss instead of regular skipper Rajat Patidar.
Now, Sharma has issued an official statement about Patidar's injury and his subsequent recovery from it.
Rajat Patidar's injury
During RCB's game against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur on May 13, Patidar seemed to have suffered a head injury.
A short delivery, bowled at around 144 kph, from KKR pacer Kartik Tyagi hit Patidar on the back of his head. At the time, he looked okay enough to continue, but made just 11 runs from 8 balls as RCB won the match by 6 wickets.
Now, it has been confirmed that Patidar's injury seems to have aggravated. He wasn't seen in any of RCB's training sessions, and was confirmed not to have travelled to Dharamsala with the team.
Jitesh Sharma issues an official statement regarding Rajat Patidar
At the toss during RCB's match against PBKS, stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma confirmed that Patidar might join the team for their next match.
"Rajat is doing fantastic, and we should see him in Hyderabad." RCB's last league stage match is against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 22.
At the toss, Jitesh also revealed that RCB had made two changes to their playing XI from the win against KKR four days ago.
"Suyash [Sharma] replaces Rajat, and Romario [Shepherd] replaces [Jacob] Duffy," he said.
A win in this match confirms a playoffs spot for RCB and also bolsters their chances of finishing in the top two. Sharma touched upon this aspect during the toss as well.
"One win tonight secures our spot in the playoffs, so it’s a massive game for us. Every game is important at this stage. This win can change the entire table - not just for us, but for several other teams as well," he said.
As happens in every season, if RCB are to beat Punjab on Sunday, a few other struggling teams' playoffs hopes will be alive once again.
Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma in IPL 2026
With 337 runs in 12 matches, Rajat Patidar is currently RCB's third-highest run scorer in IPL. He has scored the runs at an average of 33.70 and a strike rate of 192.57. He has also made 3 fifties.
Jitesh Sharma, on the other hand, has not been having a good time with the bat in IPL 2026. In the first 12 matches this year, he made just 90 runs at an average of 10 and a strike rate of 118. His highest score is just 23.
RCB playoffs scenarios
Including the match against PBKS on Sunday, RCB have two matches left in the league stage. Winning even one of those two matches will confirm a playoffs berth for the defending champions.
They can qualify even if they lose these two matches, but in that case, they will need help from other results. Having the best NRR in the league will also come in handy.
