Rajat Patidar

Rajat Manohar Patidar, popularly known as Rajat Patidar is an Indian Cricketer born on 1st June 1993 in the city of Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He is a right-handed batsman known for his ability to score big and send the ball outside the boundary line with vigour and intent.

Career

Domestic Career

Rajat Patidar played at the U-19 level and U-22 level for the Madhya Pradesh cricket team. He received his first domestic cap at the senior level in a first-class match against Baroda on October 30, 2015. Patidar impressed everyone by scoring a half-century and a century in his first two innings.

Soon, Patidar earned a place in the Madhya Pradesh List-A squad. He played his first List-A match against Saurashtra on December 11, 2015. Patidar blasted a 40-ball 53 while opening the innings for Madhya Pradesh on debut. Unfortunately, Madhya Pradesh lost that game by seven runs.

After two years, Patidar broke into the Madhya Pradesh T20 team. He made his debut on January 8, 2018, scoring a 26-ball 38 versus Rajasthan. Although Madhya Pradesh lost that match, Rajat ended up as the team’s top scorer.

So far, Rajat has played 45 T20 matches, aggregating 1466 runs, with his highest score being 112*. His 140+ strike rate highlights that Rajat prefers playing with an aggressive approach. In 44 T20 innings, the right-handed batsman has hit 117 fours and 72 maximums.

Speaking of his numbers in the other two formats, Rajat hit a century for Madhya Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He has amassed 1,648 List-A runs in 50 innings. Meanwhile, his first-class aggregate is 3795 runs in 52 matches at an average of 45.72.

Rajat was Madhya Pradesh's highest run-getter in their maiden Ranji Trophy title season in 2022. He amassed 658 runs in nine innings at 82.25 with the help of five fifties and a couple of centuries. In the final, Patidar made 122 to give MP a comprehensive 162-run first-innings lead as they defeated the 41-time champions Mumbai by six wickets in Bengaluru.

IPL Career

Rajat Patidar was signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for his base price of INR 20 lakh in IPL 2021. He could just manage 71 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 114.52 in the Indian leg of the season and was subsequently benched for the team's remaining matches in IPL 2021. Patidar was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2022 auction along with many players from the squad. He went unsold in the mega auction of IPL 2022.

However, an injury to Karnataka wicketkeeper-batter Luvnith Sisodia opened the gates for Patidar at RCB for his second stint. Patidar ensured to make the best out of the second chance as he piled up 333 runs in just seven innings, striking at 152.75.

Patidar slammed his maiden IPL century during the Eliminator match between RCB and Lucknow Super Giants at Eden Gardens on May 25, 2022. He was unbeaten on 112 off 54 balls and struck 12 boundaries and seven sixes to put his side to a commendable score of 207/4.

Patidar was the lone warrior for RCB in their Qualifier 2 game against Rajasthan Royals as his 58 off 42 balls helped RCB post a defendable target of 158 but Jos Buttler's ton (106*) knocked them out of the title race. It was reported that Rajat had postponed his marriage date to join RCB in the middle of the season in Mumbai.

Background

Hailing from Indore, Rajat Patidar came into the limelight during the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy season, where he was the leading run-getter for the Madhya Pradesh team. After some excellent performances, Rajat earned a place in the India Blue team for the 2019 Duleep Trophy. It will be exciting to see how the rising star from Madhya Pradesh performs in his debut IPL season with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Rajat's father name is Manohar Patidar who feels that his son doesn't get distracted by fame.