Rajat Patidar has revealed he did not want to join the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) when he was called up as an injury replacement in 2022. Patidar said he felt he would not get a chance to play in the 11,
and that’s what the RCB management told him, too.
Patidar first joined RCB in February 2021 after being purchased at the IPL auction. After playing a few matches in the 2021 season, he went unsold in the 2022 auction, but returned to the franchise in April 2022 as a mid-season replacement for the injured Luvnith Sisodia.
“I never wanted to join the RCB team,” Patidar said in an interview with Rotoris on YouTube. “Because I had a feeling that they were calling me as a replacement, so definitely, they will not give me a chance to play. I also got the same feedback when I joined. They clearly said that I was a replacement, ‘So, relax, chill, you will get a chance only if someone gets injured.’ Honestly, I did not want to join the team. My wedding date was also fixed… I was absolutely clear that I did not want to join because I did not want to sit on the bench. That’s not how I see myself. I feel that if I am going there, I am going there to play. I do not want to sit there; I’d rather not go. This has always been my mindset,” he added.
Patidar said he then spoke to his coaches, senior players, and family, telling everyone how he just didn’t want to go. But most in his circle said he should use the chance and delay the wedding by two months.
As fate would have it, he played eight matches in 2022 and impressed, even scoring a 54-ball unbeaten 112 in the Eliminator against the Lucknow Super Giants. He was retained for 2024 and cemented his place as a middle-order finisher before being named the captain in 2025 after Virat Kohli stepped down. He became the captain to end RCB’s trophy drought before making it two-in-a-row in 2026.
