"I make it a point to watch every net session of Virat bhaiya" - Rajat Patidar shares his admiration for former RCB skipper
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Rajat Patidar shared his admiration for teammate Virat Kohli by stating how he watches all the net sessions of the champion cricketer to pick up nuggets to impart in his game.
Patidar endured a slow start to the ongoing IPL 2024 season but has returned to blazing form in the second half of RCB's campaign. The 30-year-old has scored a half-century in five of his last seven innings to help the franchise's resurgence from bottom feeders to playoff contenders.
Meanwhile, Kohli has enjoyed another incredible season, scoring 661 runs at an average of 66.10 and a strike rate of 155.16 in 13 outings. The veteran batter is currently the leading run-scorer in IPL 2024.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Rajat Patidar hailed Kohli for being a constant guiding force to him.
"Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have always been my two biggest batting idols. I make it a point to watch every net session of Virat bhaiya and notice his foot work and stuff. I don’t go about making too many changes to my own game, but I try and see if I can add little things that I learn from him," said Patidar.
He added:
"You’re filled with confidence when you’re batting with him in matches, you know the world’s best batter is at the other end. He guides me in terms of where the bowlers could bowl, and which areas we could target. There’s so much to learn from how he goes about his innings, how he thinks about his batting."
Overall, Rajat Patidar has amassed 320 runs at an average of 29.09 and a strike rate of almost 180 in 13 games. His attacking of spinners in the middle overs has been vital to RCB's ongoing five-game winning streak.
"We never stopped believing" - Rajat Patidar
Rajat Patidar stated that the RCB players and management never stopped believing even when they were going through a torrid time in the first half of IPL 2024.
RCB were at the bottom of the points table for most of the season's first half, winning only one of their first seven outings. However, the remarkable turnaround now has the side on sixth place with a realistic chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
"Of course, it hurts when things don’t go your way. But to build some momentum, we spoke about wanting to play for pride. Everyone was always working hard, we never stopped believing. The atmosphere within the team was nice even when we weren’t winning, each player got support from the franchise as well. That was very important to be able to mount a comeback," said Patidar.
RCB will take on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their final league-stage encounter in Bengaluru on Saturday, May 18.
A win by a considerable margin will help Bengaluru leapfrog CSK on the points table and confirm their playoff berth. Even a close win could suffice for RCB to qualify if SRH loses their final two league-stage outings.