Rajat Patidar, the 31-year-old middle order batter, has been appointed as the captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The announcement was made by the franchise at an event at the KSCA on Thursday (February 13). Let us have a look at some of the lesser known facts about the new RCB captain.
Rajat Patidar was born on June 1, 1993, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh and his family is into pipe manufacturing business used for irrigation.
The 28-year-old began his career as a pace bowler and aimed to become a pace-bowling all-rounder. However, in 2014, he suffered an ACL injury that jeopardized his career as a fast bowler. At this moment, he decided to turn into a batter and shifted his focus on the batting.
Former India cricketer Amey Khurasia helped him restructure his technique.
Patidar finished as the highest run-scorer for Madhya Pradesh in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy with 713 runs in eight matches .
Patidar made his domestic debut 2015 and made his T20 debut for Madhya Pradesh in in the 2017-18 Zonal T20 League.
He was bought for Rs 20 Lakh by Royal Challengers Bengaluru at IPL 2021 players’ auction.
Patidar is a fan of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers; hence, he has always supported the Bangalore-based franchise. In an interview with the RCB last season, he said, “RCB has always been my favourite 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.”
Also Read: RCB New Captain: Rajat Patidar to Lead Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2025
