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Rajat Patidar marks a big shift in RCB’s history as the first non-superstar captain. But what is he like? His mentors describe him as a ‘not a boss but a leader’, who is calm, poised and respectful.
The dynamic between Rajat Patidar (L) and Virat Kohli will define RCB’s season. (Sportzpics Photo)
Rajat Patidar is the first non-superstar captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
It’s a franchise that, for 17 years, has lived by the stardom and died by the stardom, and Patidar has risen through the ranks only on his domestic success for Madhya Pradesh. He has also done it in a season where everything — retentions, the auction, media reports — pointed towards Virat Kohli‘s return at the helm.
Patidar’s appointment is a true watershed moment in the RCB’s history — for many, it would have been impossible to predict this outcome even a few months ago. However, for those who have seen Patidar grow from Indore, when he was more interested in bowling off-spin than batting, his achievement is far from surprising.
“He has a great cricketing brain, which is why he has played to such a high level,” Devendra Bhundela, Patidar’s first captain in Madhya Pradesh and long-time mentor, tells News18 CricketNext. “RCB has made the absolute right call in making him the captain. He’ll do well, he has the captaincy talent in him. He’s very good with his teammates, helps everyone, and motivates everyone.”
Bhundela has seen Patidar grow as a youngster under his captaincy to leading Madhya Pradesh into a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final for the first time since 2010-11.
The one quality he repeatedly mentions about Patidar is his calmness, on and off the field, and especially in pressure moments.
Former India cricketer Amay Khurasiya, who has coached Patidar in batting for years, and has also worked with internationals like Avesh Khan, went deeper into explaining his characteristics.
“Everything that comes out with a lot of hyper moments, that’s not Rajat. Rajat is quiet and poised. He will take his pause, and you know, he’ll be the Lone Sentinel if it comes for his team to fight it out till the last breath,” Khurasiya says.
“He’s an outstanding boy, very honest, very committed, a man of few words, but very intense inside,” he adds. “People think aggression is always outside, in terms of the sort of sentences you speak, but this boy speaks less, but he has a lot of intensity from inside. And his body is always outstanding. Some people don’t have to speak, but they are Royal. He’s a man with fewer words, but he’s Royal. He is an outstanding guy with a lot of poise, and he is the one who will be placid amid noise and haste. So I think he is a good choice for RCB.”
For cricketers as good, aggressive and risk-taking as Patidar, who had his best IPL season last year, there’s always a risk associated with the captaincy. You don’t want them to be overburdened and drop their natural game.
But Bhundela cites Patidar’s 428 runs in nine innings at an average of 61.14 with a strike-rate of 186.08 in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali season, to claim that he’d be unaffected by the demands.
“I don’t think it’ll make a difference for him… He’ll do even better,” Bhundela says.
Khurasiya also believes that Patidar won’t have any issue managing the abundance of stardom — not just Kohli but also Josh Hazlewood, Liam Livingstone and Bhuvneshwar Kumar — in RCB.
He said Patidar is never shy of looking into the mirror and constantly works on himself, which keeps him grounded.
“He’s not boss material, he’s leader material,” Khurasiya says. “… He’s a man who knows what respect is required, what is respect for the people who have played for the country for 10, 15 and 20 years. So he will not impose himself on anyone in terms of what he is today, and he is the last man who will be arrogant about his success. He will not just give respect, he will give a lot of respect and reverence. I repeat, reverence.”
So, what kind of captain can RCB fans expect — a tactician type, who sits hours before a match, goes through the date to prepare plans for every opposition member, or more of an instinctive metronome, who’ll try to get the best out of his players depending on the match situation?
“I think people will remember him as both because real leadership is not about just whatever tactical plans or strategic plans are given to you by analysts,” Khurasiya says. “When everything fails, that’s where leaders emerge, that’s where a leader evolves. I rate him in that category, and I’m telling you, believe me, that trophy that RCB is missing, they’ll get closer.”
