Rajat Patidar primed for captaincy conversation in Indian cricket: 'Has to work out how RCB win at home and...'
Former India batter Robin Uthappa is mighty impressed with RCB captain Rajat Patidar. Here's what he had to say about his leadership.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) might be struggling to win their home matches in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Still, former India opening batter Robin Uthappa is mighty pleased with Rajat Patidar's captaincy so far. RCB lost three games in the ongoing 18th edition of the IPL, and all of these defeats came at their home ground, M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
RCB posted 95/9 in the rain-curtailed fixture (14-overs-per-side) against Punjab Kings. The score would have looked abysmal had Tim David not scored a half-century. At one stage, the hosts were reeling at 42/7.
Punjab Kings eventually chased the target down with five wickets in hand and 11 balls to spare. After the loss, Rajat Patidar took the blame for the batting failure, saying his side needs to step up and perform as a unit.
Uthappa has now appreciated these comments, as the former India batter said Patidar might be talked about in captaincy conversations in Indian cricket if he can turn the tide around for RCB at home this season.
"Loved how Rajat took ownership about RCB’s batting. Shows great character as a leader. He has to work out how they win at home and if he does that then he’ll become a front runner in captaincy conversations in Indian Cricket," Robin Uthappa wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
What did Rajat Patidar say about the loss vs Punjab Kings
With the loss against Punjab Kings, RCB created the record for suffering most defeats at a single venue. RCB, who reached the IPL final in 2016, have now faced 46 losses at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the tournament.
After the defeat against the Punjab Kings, Patidar pinned the blame on the batters for not showing enough fight with the bat on a difficult and tricky pitch.
"Initially it was sticking and two paced, but we could have done far better as a batting unit. Partnerships are important, we have lost wickets in quick intervals and that's a big lesson for us," said Patidar.
"The wicket wasn't that bad, it was under covers for a long time, it helped their bowlers, credit goes to them. No matter how the wicket plays, we need to bat well and get a winning total. The batters have played with intent, that's something pleasing. We can correct some of our mistakes in the batting unit," he added.
RCB are currently in the fourth spot in the IPL standings with 8 points from seven matches. All the victories for RCB have come away from home this season.
The Patidar-led side will next take on Punjab Kings in an afternoon fixture on Sunday in New Chandigarh.
