5 things you might not know about Rajat Patidar, RCB's IPL 2022 playoffs hero
Rajat Patidar is the talk of the town after his stupendous knock in the IPL 2022 Eliminator between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants. LSG won the toss and elected to field first at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
Mohsin Khan got LSG off to a great start by picking up Faf du Plessis' wicket in the first over. Patidar walked out to the middle and played a gem of a knock to power the Bangalore-based franchise to 207/4 in their 20 overs.
The uncapped batter scored 112 runs off 54 balls, smashing 12 fours and seven sixes. Not many fans knew Rajat Patidar before tonight's game, but now he is the talking point among the cricketing fraternity.
We look at five lesser-known facts about RCB's new hero.
#1 Rajat Patidar picked up an ACL injury in 2014
"As Rajat Patidar sat at home in Indore recovering from an ACL reconstruction in his right knee in 2014, he used to watch IPL on TV, dreaming of one day playing in the league as a bowling allrounder." - Intro itself makes this #mustread by @captainshanky. espncricinfo.com/story/mi-vs-rc…
Rajat Patidar started off as a fast bowler and aimed to become one of the country's top bowling all-rounders. However, he suffered an ACL injury in 2014, which ruled him out for eight months.
According to Stars Unfolded, his family was reluctant to allow him to continue as a cricketer but Patidar convinced them and transitioned into a batter.
#2 He went unsold in the IPL 2022 mega-auction
Patidar was one of the many uncapped players who registered for the IPL 2022 mega-auction. Since he had a decent outing with the Royal Challengers Bangalore last year, many fans expected him to earn an IPL deal this year as well.
However, none of the franchises bid for him. Midway through the season, Luvnith Sisodia was ruled due to an injury, prompting RCB to sign Patidar as a replacement player.
#3 Ravindra Jadeja dismissed him on his List-A debut
Patidar made his List-A debut for Madhya Pradesh against Saurashtra in December of 2015. Centuries from Ravindra Jadeja and Sheldon Jackson helped Saurashtra post a total of 340/5 in their 50 overs.
Chasing 341 to win, Madhya Pradesh got off to an excellent start, with debutant Patidar scoring a 40-ball 53. Jadeja dismissed him caught out soon after he completed his half-ton.
#4 Patidar scored a hundred on his first-class debut
While he scored a fifty on his List-A debut, Rajat Patidar started his first-class career with a century against Baroda. He scored 60 in the first innings and followed it up with a 127-ball 101 in the second innings.
Madhya Pradesh won that match by 87 runs. Interestingly, former Punjab Kings spinner Swapnil Singh picked up his wicket in both the innings.
Catch the next match on the IPL timetable 2022 here.
#5 He always loved RCB because of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers
In an interview with RCB last year, Rajat Patidar disclosed that he supported the franchise because of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Here's what he said:
"RCB has always been my favorite team because of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. Luckily, I got a chance to play with them. I was nervous before meeting them, but I liked it a lot after coming here."
It will be interesting to see if he can leave a legacy at RCB like Virat and AB de Villiers.