Rajat Patidar, who made his IPL 2021 debut for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), has revealed that the franchise has always been his favorite one in the Indian Premier League (IPL), thanks to the presence of captain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
Rajat Patidar Praises RCB
In an interview with the Bangalore outfit, Patidar spoke about his stint in IPL 2021 saying that RCB was always his favorite IPL team and he will always cherish the memories of batting with Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
“RCB has always been my favorite team because of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. Luckily, I got a chance to play with them. I was nervous before meeting them, but I liked it a lot after coming here,” Patidar said during the interview with RCB.
Bold Diaries: Rajat Patidar
Remember the name! Technically sound, confident, and has the right mindset. Here’s the story of Rajat Patidar on @myntra presents Bold Diaries.#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/dRJvP6RjBE
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 4, 2021
Further in the interaction, the 27-year-old revealed that he initially started his career as a spin bowler but it was his coach that recognized his talent as a batsman and directed him to work his charm with the willow rather than focusing on his abilities with the ball.
When asked about what inspired him to play cricket, Patidar reckoned that he started enjoying the game just because of the former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and is a big fan of him.
“At that time, there was just one name – Sachin Tendulkar. It all started because of him. And then slowly, when I started playing, I started following others like Rahul Dravid, and, from the current lot, I like Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli a lot,” he said.
Rajat Patidar has played four matches for RCB so far, scoring 71 runs, with a best of 31. Patidar, who plays for Madhya Pradesh, was bought by RCB for his base price of INR 20 lakhs in the IPL 2021 auction. He has an impressive T20 career with 770 runs in 26 T20s, with the best of 96 at a strike rate of 140.25.
