Royal Challengers Bangalore Cricket Director Mo Bobat praised Rajat Patidar For his excellent innings against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1, terming it another important step in the batsman's development. Patidar focused on steadying the innings before brilliantly changing gears, attacking the bowlers with such intensity that Gujarat Titans' plans collapsed in real time.
The stellar performance has further intensified calls for Patidar's inclusion in India's T20 squad as the team embarks on a fresh start to the two-year World Cup cycle. Patidar has been one of the standout performers for RCB in IPL 2026 and is currently the franchise's second-highest run-scorer. The right-handed batsman has scored 483 runs at an excellent strike rate of 196.76, which has played an important role in taking Bengaluru to the final.
“He's obviously been batting brilliantly right now and has done well throughout the competition. That was a really special innings today and I'm sure he'll be really pleased to be lining up in a big qualifier. Any team captain who is playing well gets more confidence from that. We're getting used to seeing those kind of innings from him now. He played some outrageous shots but also really aggressive intent… leading by example,” Bobat told ESPNcricinfo. quoted as saying.
“He has worked incredibly hard on his game with both DK [Dinesh Karthik] and andy [Flower]. One thing about Rajat is that he middles the ball a lot. Be it pace or spin, front foot or back foot, the ball often hits the middle of his bat. This is usually a very good sign. He has really good fundamentals and fearless intentions. We have worked hard over the years to make it our team identity,” he said.
Patidar's fearless determination became the defining feature of RCB's innings, completely changing the pace of the contest and the scoreboard pressure on GT. After settling in carefully, Patidar finally launched a surprise attack that pushed the GT into unfamiliar territory. What initially appeared to be a manageable target soon turned into a difficult and suffocating target through its explosive acceleration.
“One of the things he has done very well this year is choose his moments. I remember the game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the beginning of the season when we lost early wickets. He handled the pressure early and then stepped up. It requires real discipline and sophistication in your thinking,” Bobat said.
“It was the same today. After a good start from the top three, we lost a few wickets and he admittedly had a mini rebuilding moment before picking up the pace again. The ability to read situations and conditions, knowing when to go into top gear and when to drop one down has been a really impressive part of his development,” he said.
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