Star batter Rajat Patidar was officially ruled out from IPL 2023 on Tuesday, dealing Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) a severe setback. Rajat Patidar, a batsman with RCB, will not play this season because of an Achilles injury.
The Virat Kohli-led team is preparing for its upcoming encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens after thrashing record-breaking winners Mumbai Indians (MI) in their IPL 2023 opener.
In a major development before the tantalising match between Bangalore and Kolkata, RCB has announced that star batter Patidar will be missing the entire season of the lucrative league.
RCB has acknowledged Patidar’s resignation from the IPL team, but the Bangalore-based team has not yet named a successor for the injured batter.
“Unfortunately, Rajat Patidar has been ruled out of #IPL2023 due to an Achilles Heel injury. We wish Rajat a speedy recovery and will continue to support him during the process. The coaches and management have decided not to name a replacement player for Rajat just yet,” RCB said in a statement.
Rajat Patidar has steller IPL records
Patidar has participated in 12 IPL games. In 2021, the 29-year-old faced the Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium for the first time in the IPL. Patidar has amassed 404 runs in 12 IPL games while averaging over 40.
Patidar’s breakthrough season was the IPL 2022. He wasn’t selected at the mega auction before the season, but he replaced Luvnith Sisodia for Royal Challengers in the middle of the year due to an injury. In the Eliminator, he made a statement by hitting the tournament’s quickest hundred by an Indian.
In terms of runs scored for Royal Challengers during the season, he placed third after Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. His strike rate was 152.75, and in seven innings, he scored 333 runs.
Although Patidar hasn’t played for his country outside of India yet, his IPL successes and outstanding performances during Madhya Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy championship season secured him a spot in the team.
RCB is dealing with injuries
Australian Josh Hazlewood, one of the team’s top wicket-takers from the last season, has said he won’t be game-ready until the fourth week of April.
Reece Topley, an England pacer for RCB, dislocated his right shoulder on Monday while playing defence in a game between RCB and MI. RCB will now have to restructure their IPL 2023 squad by filling the spot with the best replacements.
RCB IPL 2023 Injuries
- Will Jacks (Ruled out for the season)
- Josh Hazlewood (Unavailable for first half)
- Rajat Patidar (Ruled out for the season)
- Reece Topley (Dislocated shoulder)
RCB IPL 2023 Squad
Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Suyash Prabhudessai, Finn Allen, Avinash Singh, Rajan Kumar, Will Jacks, Manoj Bhandage, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, R Sonu Yadav, David Willey, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Siddarth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma
Also Read: IPL 2023: KKR Shakib Al Hasan Opts Out, Shreyas Iyer Likely To Be Available For Few Matches
