Rajat Patidar, who played two consecutive innings for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the last IPL season, is out for this season. He is out of the field with his heel injury. He is currently focusing on recovering from his injury at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He is out of the initial IPL matches but he may have to be out of the whole tournament. Meanwhile, when RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar was asked a question related to Rajat Patidar’s comeback this season, his reply raised hopes that Rajat would play some matches this season.
Sanjay Bangar said: ‘As far as Rajat Patidar is concerned, it is a matter beyond our control. The treatment of him continues in the NCA and so far we do not have any clear information about him from this academy. As soon as we get information about Rajat’s recovery through NCA, our media team will share it. The NCA itself has to decide when Rajat has to play next.
Rajat Patidar proved to be a game changer for RCB last season. He had beaten his team in some big games. Last season, he had the chance to play 8 matches and in these matches he scored 333 runs with a batting average of 55.50 and a strike rate of 152.75. In these 8 innings, he also scored two half centuries and one century. Due to his absence, the RCB top flight can look a bit weak.
Note that at present two leading RCB bowlers are also out in this IPL season. Josh Hazlewood will be unable to play the opening match of the IPL due to injury, while Wanindu Hasaranga is still unavailable due to the T20 series in New Zealand.
