RCB vs CSK: Not Virat Kohli Scott Styris names one player RCB should not even think of releasing ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction

Former New Zealand allrounder has named the player Royal Challengers Bengaluru should not release ahead of the mega auction for the next edition of the Indian Premier League.

The three-year contract of the players will come to an end after the ongoing IPL 2024. The last mega auction was held before the 2022 edition. At present, teams are allowed to retain four players ahead of every mega auction. And while only time will reveal how many players each team is allowed to retain ahead of the forthcoming mega auction, Scott Styris has warned RCB against releasing Rajat Patidar.

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Heaping praise on the batsman, the New Zealand great stated that RCB should not even think of letting the batter get into the auction pool. He also backed him to go from strength to strength in the future.

"Rajat Patidar has come on leaps and bounds. We knew the talent he possessed anyway. But, if I were in charge of RCB and if I were allowed to keep four players, Rajat Patidar would be one of the four," Styris told Jio Cinema on Thursday, May 16.

"Think of all the big names, arguably one of the bigger names around him. But, he would be one of the names I would retain. I will be like 'no, no, we are not even risking putting you back out in the open market. You are too good'. I think he will go from strength to strength every year," he added.

Rajat Patidar did struggle to get going in the early phase of the ongoing IPL 2024 before turning things around in a spectacular fashion. His form is one of the key reasons behind RCB's brilliant late resurgence in the tournament.

In his last five innings, he has slammed four half-centuries and has been very severe against the spin bowlers. So far, he has hit 20 sixes against the spinners and has scored at a strike-rate of 224.69 against them.

Rajat Patidar's IPL journey so far:

Rajat Patidar's IPL journey began in 2021 when RCB handed him his maiden IPL contract. In his first season, Patidar managed to score a modest 71 runs in 4 games and was released before the mega auction. In the mega auction, the right-handed batsman went unsold as he could not attract any bid.

Later, RCB signed him as an injury replacement. He went on to justify the decision by slamming a stunning unbeaten match-winning century in the Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants. It made him the first-ever uncapped player to score a century in the playoffs. Overall, he scored 333 runs in eight games in IPL 2022. Unfortunately, he could not play any game in IPL 2023 due to an injury but was retained by RCB.