Despite losing seven of their first eight games in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have turned the tables in dramatic fashion.
RCB went on to win their last five games and remain in the playoff chase as they prepare for their last league game against the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.
Rajat Patidar has scored 320 runs at a strike rate of 179.77, including five half-centuries, making him one of RCB’s main performers thus far. The 30-year-old discusses the team’s comeback, batting in the middle order, and learning from Virat Kohli.
Patidar on RCB’s bowling
Speaking about the sudden turnaround of RCB’s fate especially the bowling unit, Rajat Patidar said that there has been a shift in the mindsets of the bowlers.
“I think there’s been a change in the mindset of every bowler in our squad. Even in T20s, picking wickets is most important when you’re trying to defend. During the initial phase too, our bowlers were trying to get breakthroughs in the powerplay but perhaps the execution was lacking. But I’m glad they kept trying to find answers and have got the momentum now. It instilled belief in the batters as well that we can turn things around. Rajat said.
“Kohli and Rohit Sharma are my batting idols”
In a conversation about the RCB’s ex-captain Virat Kohli and MI’s ex captain Rohit Sharma, Rajat accepted them as their two batting idols. He further added that he tries to emulate Kohli’s mannerisms while batting, without changing much in his own style of playing.
“Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have always been my two biggest batting idols. I make it a point to watch every net session of Virat bhaiya and notice his foot work and stuff. I don’t go about making too many changes to my own game, but I try and see if I can add little things that I learn from him.”
Adding about the confidence he got while playing with Virat in RCB, Patidar added, “You’re filled with confidence when you’re batting with him in matches, you know the world’s best batter is at the other end. He guides me in terms of where the bowlers could bowl, and which areas we could target. There’s so much to learn from how he goes about his innings, how he thinks about his batting.”
How Rajat treats the middle order
Patidar has had a change of roles in the team. The right arm batsman was a top order batsman who has now turned into the middle order this season.
“As a batter in T20s, you have no choice but to have the intent to hit boundaries from the start. You can’t think that let’s just take some time and then hit later, it’s usually too late by then. My role this year is different as I’ve been asked to bat in the middle order.”
Patidar also cleared the air about liking pacers more, as compared to spin balls.
“ It may come across that I like playing against spinners more, but I’m a top order batter and I like facing pacers more. But since I’ve been asked to bat in the middle order, I’ve had to change my approach a bit because you don’t get the time to settle in like top order batters do. At the top, you have that slight cushion to get set before going for your shots. But in the middle order, you need to be prepared in the dugout itself so that you can execute big shots immediately once you’re out there.” He added.
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