Rajat Patidar has opened up about a surprising chapter in his IPL journey, revealing that he was initially reluctant to rejoin Royal Challengers Bengaluru as an injury replacement in 2022. At the time, the Madhya Pradesh batter feared he would not get a proper opportunity in the playing XI, and according to him, even the RCB management made it clear that his role would depend on an injury to another player.
Patidar first entered the RCB setup after being bought at the IPL 2021 auction. He featured in a few matches that season, but at the 2022 auction he went unsold. A few months later, however, RCB brought him back as a mid-season replacement for injured wicketkeeper-batter Luvnith Sisodia. Even then, Patidar was not convinced that joining the franchise made sense for him.
“I never wanted to join the RCB team,” Rajat Patidar said in an interview with Rotoris on YouTube. “Because I had a feeling that they were calling me as a replacement, so definitely, they will not give me a chance to play.” He added that the message he received from the team was straightforward: he was there as cover, and he would only play if someone else was unavailable.
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Patidar said he was so firm in his thinking that he had even set his wedding date and was prepared to turn down the offer. “I did not want to sit on the bench. That’s not how I see myself,” he explained, making it clear that he preferred to play cricket rather than remain on the sidelines.
Before taking a final call, Patidar spoke to his coaches, senior players and family members, all of whom advised him to take the chance and postpone the wedding by a couple of months.
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That decision changed everything. Patidar went on to play eight matches in IPL 2022 and made a huge impact, including a match-winning unbeaten 112 off 54 balls against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator. He was retained for IPL 2024, established himself as a reliable middle-order batter, and later took over as RCB captain in 2025 after Virat Kohli stepped down. Under his leadership, RCB ended their long title drought and then completed back-to-back IPL trophies in 2026.
