NEW DELHI: As the fireworks lit up the Ahmedabad sky and Royal Challengers Bengaluru players celebrated yet another IPL triumph, one man sat quietly in the stands, soaking in the moment.Abhishek Pathrod had found a spot close to the presentation stage, eagerly waiting for his childhood friend Rajat Patidar. With the coveted trophy in his hands, Patidar walked straight towards his childhood friend after the ceremony. The two embraced, their eyes moist with emotion. It was a hug that carried years of shared dreams, struggles and countless hours spent playing cricket together.“Dekha, jeet gaye. Kar diya na maine,” Patidar told Abhishek before pulling him in for another hug.Abhishek, who had played a significant amount of junior cricket alongside Patidar, couldn’t resist reminding his friend of the remarkable journey.“Yes bhai, welcome, injury replacement to two-time IPL-winning captain,” he replied, triggering laughter from both.Two years ago, Rajat Patidar was just another player in the RCB dressing room. He shared space with superstars like Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and several other big names, but had little identity of his own on the IPL stage.Today, the picture has completely changed.Patidar is now the only captain after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to win back-to-back IPL titles as captain.“Usko to record pata nahi tha ki Rohit aur Dhoni ke record ko barabar kiya. His teammates told him. I remember when he took the captaincy, all of us friends got together and asked him, ‘bhai 17 saal se nahi jite, pressure ka kya?’. He had smiled and said, ‘kya pata iss baar jeet jayein’. He went on to lead the team to the IPL title,” Pathrod remembered.
The captaincy shiftLeading RCB is a completely different challenge from captaining a team like Mumbai Indians or Chennai Super Kings. The franchise carried the burden of a 17-year trophy drought. But Patidar not only embraced the captaincy, but he also elevated his batting alongside it – something many great captains have struggled to achieve.Patidar’s childhood coach and mentor, Amay Khurasiya believes the batter always possessed leadership qualities, regardless of his lack of captaincy experience.“I have seen him from a very young age, I have seen him while he used to be in our camps also and we do a lot of tactical assessment, we do a lot of strategical assessment of kids in terms of asking them many questions and he was always there with a different thought process and he used to speak very less, but whenever he used to speak, he used to speak a lot of sense,” Khurasiya told TimesofIndia.com.“As a leader if you see, he takes his chances, he takes his decisions and you will always see him that he will accept them if they don’t come his way. If things don’t go his way, he will accept them,” he said.When the franchise first approached him about captaincy in 2024, Patidar did not immediately accept the role. Pathrod said he wanted to return to domestic cricket, captain teams there, and understand whether he was truly ready for such a significant responsibility.Patidar first captained in domestic competitions and later led Madhya Pradesh to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final. Although MP lost the final by five wickets, Patidar’s unbeaten 81 off 40 balls, stood out.When Patidar eventually accepted the RCB captaincy, many around him felt the decision was based less on experience and more on personality. His calmness stood out.“Look at the way he bats and captains. Think of Roger Federer – calm and composed. Rahul Dravid, calm and composed. Sachin Tendulkar, calm and composed. MS Dhoni. Patidar is very similar. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t aggressive,” said Khurasiya. “He has always been one of those people who are aggressive from within but never feel the need to show it. Rajat is the same. He is a man of few words, but whenever he speaks, he speaks sense.“Not showing your emotions also takes a lot of courage and aggression. If you want to see his aggression, look at his batting and look into his eyes. He will never respond with words, but he will definitely respond with actions,” he added.Rajat Patidar: Not just a spin basherPatidar finished the season with 501 runs at an average of 41.75 and striking at 192.69. But, beyond his numerous contributions and partnerships throughout the season, his explosive knock against the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 perfectly showcased his growth both as captain and a batter. `
Long known as a player who dominated spin bowling, Patidar expanded his game further this season. He attacked both pace and spin with equal authority, striking at a breathtaking rate. This season, 283 off his 501 runs came against pace with a strike-rate of 177.9, while vs spin his strike-rate was 201.8.Pathrod says it was the result of the intense preparation that went into his batting before recent IPL seasons.“Many call him ‘spin destroyer’ here. That’s his nickname. But it’s not just spin. He hits both spinners and fast bowlers equally well. He’s had success against quality pace attacks too,” said Pathrod.“Rajat spends at least four hours batting every day at the Holkar Stadium (in Indore, Madhya Pradesh). Even now, he gives himself three to four hours of batting practice regularly. He plays spinners and fast bowlers, and there are throwdown specialists who bowl to him. In this IPL, he smashed pacers too. He did a lot of practice for this,” Pathrod said.Now, with RCB having won two titles on the trot, Patidar’s place in the franchise’s history is firmly secured. If Kohli was the pillar around which RCB built their championship-winning teams, Patidar has been the architect who turned those dreams into reality.And after back-to-back triumphs, who knows? A historic hat-trick of IPL titles may well be waiting for Patidar and RCB in 2027.
