'Didn't want to come…'; RCB skipper Rajat Patidar makes startling confession after going unsold during IPL 2022 auction

Rajat Patidar might be leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League season this year, but he was nowhere near the core of the team just three years ago.

After playing four games in IPL 2021, his debut season, for RCB, the right-handed batsman was ignored for the following season as he went unsold in the IPL 2022 mega auction. This was despite the Madhya Pradesh batsman being assured of a spot in the team.

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"I had got a message (ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2022) that ‘you should be ready… we will pick you'. I had a little hope that I would get another chance (to play for RCB). But I wasn't picked in the mega auction. I was a little sad," Patidar said on an RCB podcast.

Didn't want to play However, the stars aligned for the 31-year-old as the franchise roped him in as an injury substitute midway through the season.

And he repaid the faith as he smashed a 54-ball 112 in a playoff game against the Lucknow Super Giants. RCB went on to win the game by 14 runs and Patidar bagged the Man of the Match award.

However, he wasn't keen on returning to the RCB squad as an injury replacement.

This was because he wasn't sure of getting into the star-studded batting lineup that had the likes of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik, to name a few.

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"I (had) started playing in my local matches in Indore (after not getting picked in the auction). Then, I got a call that 'we are picking you as a replacement for Luvnith Sisodia', who was injured. To tell you frankly, I didn't want to come as a replacement because I knew that I wouldn't get a chance to play there, and I always feel that I don't want to sit there (in the dugout).

"I wasn't angry. It was like, if they didn't pick me (during the auction), then I won't get it (get to play). I was angry for a while but then I was normal," the RCB captain said.

Rise to captaincy Patidar has since established himself as a batting mainstay. In his fourth season as an RCB player, the MP batter has amassed 1,038 runs in 38 matches at an average of 31.45 and a strike rate of 154.23.

His century in that IPL 2022 playoff game is his only ton and his highest score to date.

He has had a breakthrough season this year in the domestic circuit, after leading Madhya Pradesh to the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final.

He was rewarded for putting in the hard yards in domestic cricket and displaying leadership qualities as RCB handed over the reins of the team from Virat Kohli.

While he had massive shoes to fill, Patidar says the legendary India batsman gave him confidence by giving him his full backing.

"I had a lot of questions like, there are so many (big players) in the team. Virat Kohli is such a big player, how will you do it under him… I know how supportive he is about this (captaincy change).

"I knew I have his full support. Like I said, this is a learning for me, it's an opportunity for me. So, I will learn as much as I can from him. Because no one has the experience and ideas that he has in every role -- be it batting, as an individual and as a captain," Patidar said in the podcast.

‘Completely blank’ Patidar recalls the day he was given the RCB captaincy and counts it as one of the most memorable days in his career so far.

"I have seen him (Kohli) since I started watching TV, in the IPL, off the field, in the Indian team... To take that thing (captaincy plaque) that he has been doing for so many years... and he is giving it to me with his own hands.

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"When he was giving it to me, I was a bit worried about how to take it. I was completely blank about what to do. He told me to hold it. I held it. After that, I was looking at him like, what should I do?

"Then he said a couple of words like, 'you deserve it, you earned it'. So I felt a little bit okay. I mean when he said this to me then I became normal in that situation. I learn from him as much as possible. So I think that was a special moment... the way he introduced me to so many fans."

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