Rajat Patidar has achieved something remarkable, guiding Royal Challengers Bengaluru to back-to-back IPL titles. After years of waiting for their first championship, RCB have now established themselves as a dominant force under Patidar’s leadership. His impact was not limited to captaincy alone. Leading from the front with the bat, he scored 501 runs at a strike rate of 192.69, consistently delivering in the middle order when his team needed him most. Whether rebuilding an innings or accelerating under pressure, Patidar played several match-defining knocks and was a key figure in RCB’s successful title defence.
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke believes Patidar’s contribution to RCB’s title-winning campaign has not received the attention it deserves. While much of the spotlight naturally falls on Virat Kohli, Clarke singled out the skipper for his leadership and consistent performances with the bat, describing him as one of the tournament’s most underrated stars.
“Patidar had a stellar tournament again and is my player under the radar. Virat Kohli being in the team will always be the most spoken about player. But Patidar has done an exceptional job with the way he leads and gets the best out of all of his players. His own performance, batting in the tough middle order, has been fantastic,” Clarke said on Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.
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Clarke went a step further and argued that Patidar’s performances this season should put him firmly in contention for a place in India’s T20 setup. The former Australia captain highlighted the RCB skipper’s leadership qualities and praised his ability to thrive in one of the most demanding batting positions in the format.
“Though he’s 31, there has to be a talk about him in the Indian T20 team. I don’t know if he will captain India, but he has leadership qualities. His middle-order batting has been phenomenal. Batting at No.4 is the hardest in T20s, and he comes in at the position and just explodes,” he added.
“BCCI and Indian selectors must be talking about Rajat Patidar”
The former Aussie skipper also believes Patidar’s achievements as captain cannot be ignored by the national selectors. Pointing to RCB’s back-to-back title triumphs, he said the RCB captain has done enough to force his way into conversations around India’s white-ball squads.
“India has a lot of talent at the moment, and a number of them are fighting to get into the Indian team from this IPL. But if you captain a team that goes on to win back-to-back IPL tournaments, the BCCI and the Indian selectors must be talking about him. His name must be in front of the queue in T20s, and he could even be looked at in ODI cricket,” said Clarke.