Rajat Patidar Continues Prolific Run Day After T20I Squad Snub, Bats At A SR Of...

Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar on Sunday, June 7, smacked a match-winning 30-ball 65 for the Gwalior Cheetahs against the Malwa Stallions in the Madhya Pradesh Premier League, as his team won by a whopping 51 runs. This comes a day after Patidar couldn’t find a place in India’s T20I squad.

Patidar’s exclusion stands out on pure IPL numbers: 501 runs at a blistering 192.69, 42 sixes and a strike rate topping Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar.

If IPL 2026 alone dictated selection, Patidar would have been hard to ignore. But India’s picks suggest defined roles; an aggressive, middle-order batter who can also lead was the priority.

Before the T20I squad was named on Saturday,

June 6, Patidar’s name was also floated as a captaincy candidate, with reports stating that Suryakumar Yadav was all set to be sacked.

Suryakumar was removed from his duties, but the selectors picked Iyer to replace him, with no space for Patidar in the squad.

But Patidar seems to be unfazed by all the chatter around his non-selection.

Asked to bat, the Cheetahs slipped to 41/3 in five overs before Parth Chaudhary and Patidar stitched a 44-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

After the Cheetahs found themselves at 101/5 in the 13th over, Patidar and Arpit Patel added 49 runs for the sixth wicket. The former was eventually dismissed by Harshwardhan Singh for a 30-ball 65.

Patidar smacked six fours and four sixes, as he batted at a stunning strike rate of 216.67. The Cheetahs eventually posted a whopping 190/7.

In the chase, Rakesh Thakur and Ansh Yadav built a 48-run opening partnership before the latter was dismissed by Saumy Pandey. The Stallions couldn’t build any more partnerships and were bowled out for a paltry 139, as Pandey and Ishan Afridi picked three wickets apiece.

Patidar was named the Player of the Match for his batting performance.