Rajat Patidar has been one of the most promising stories in Indian cricket. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain had a tough time a few years back when he was not picked for the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL). However, in the year 2022, while he was unsold in the auction, he was brought in as a replacement for Luvnith Sisodia for the IPL 2026 champions.
After scoring a century in the Eliminator against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), he never turned back. Rajat Patidar has been with RCB since then and was named the captain of the side in the 2025 season after Faf du Plessis was released ahead of the mega-auction. He changed the fortune of the franchise, ending their long wait of 17 years and earning them the first IPL title in 2025.
Rajat Patidar's transformation is unreal
In 2025, he was amazing with the bat, scoring 312 runs with a strike rate of 143.78, but his leadership was excellent and led RCB to their maiden IPL title, turning the clock to this year yet again with a similar kind of leadership. He led the side in the final and became only the third captain after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to defend the IPL trophy.
RCB won their second trophy and entered the list of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) to defend their trophy successfully. Rajat Patidar, as a batter, had the best of seasons in his IPL career, scoring 501 runs with an average of 41.75 and a strike rate over 190. Every former cricketer and commentator believes that he should be called up for the India National Cricket Team.
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The credit goes to Freddie- Rajat Patidar
Rajat Patidar, now, after the win, has shared his secrets of playing spin well in the last two seasons of the IPL. He has credited Freddie Wilde, RCB’s analyst, who has helped him to get the best out against quality spinners like Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. However, what made Rajat stand out this season was his ability to strike well against the pacers as well.
Rajat Patidar said, "People always used to say I am a spin basher but to be honest, picking the ball from their hands, the credit goes to Freddie because he helped me a lot - 4 or 5 times in the IPL, I called Freddie. I needed videos of bowlers especially spinners like Rashid, Narine & Varun. I wanted to understand the differences in their deliveries and where I could pick them from".
Rajat Patidar's record vs Varun, Narine and Rashid
Against the above-mentioned spinners, Patidar has dominated all of them, with only thrice combined these spinners have dismissed him in the IPL.
This is a stellar record against three quality spin operators who have dominated the IPL over the years. He would like to continue his excellent run in the IPL next season and try to win another trophy with the franchise.
| Player | Years | Runs | Balls | Outs | Dots | 4s | 6s | SR | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Varun Chakravarthy | 2021, 2023, 2024 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 100.0 | 12.0 |
| Sunil Narine | 2024, 2025, 2026 | 33 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 194.1 | 33.0 |
| Rashid Khan | 2022, 2026 | 34 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 200.0 | 34.0 |
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