S Badrinath made sharp comment on Rajat Patidar’s ignorance of India

Former Indian batsman Subramaniam Badrinath has joined the debate over Rajat Patidar’s selection. While many were disappointed that Rajat Patidar was left out of India’s T20 squad for the tour of Ireland and England, Badrinath believes the selectors have taken the right decision.

Patidar had a fantastic IPL 2026 season. The Royal Challengers Bangalore captain led his team to its second consecutive IPL title and scored more than 500 runs in the tournament at an impressive strike rate of close to 193. He was one of the most dangerous middle-order batsmen of the season.

Bringing Patidar in place of Dubey is like replacing a forward in place of a goalkeeper: Subramaniam Badrinath.

Some people also argued that Rajat Patidar should have replaced Shivam Dubey in the team. But Badrinath believes that there is no point in comparison. He told that Dubey and Patidar play completely different roles in the T20 team. While Dubey is a finisher who can also bowl, Rajat Patidar is a specialist middle-order batsman.

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Subramaniam Badrinath said on his YouTube channel: “Patidar comes in a different category than Shivam Dubey. If Patidar must be selected, he should be ahead of one of Tilak Verma, Ishan Kishan or Shreyas Iyer. Certainly not, and hence his non-selection is justified. Replacing Dubey with Patidar is like replacing a wicketkeeper with a forward. Dubey bowls regularly for the Indian team, So he falls in the finisher-all-rounder category.”

Rajat Patidar doesn’t fit into India’s T20I plans: Badrinath

He admitted that the RCB captain has done a great job, but there is no place for him in the Indian cricket team. Cricket pundits believe that Patidar is indeed competing with players like Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Verma and Ishan Kishan for a spot in India’s T20 setup.

Badrinath further said, “Patidar absolutely falls in the same category as Shreyas. So, when Shreyas is the T20 captain, how can Patidar be in the team? Tilak Verma has done brilliantly for India and has done well in this IPL as well.”

“Patidar has performed surprisingly well for RCB in the IPL, but there is no place for him in the Indian team. Even Vaibhav Suryavanshi had to break the door to come. Rajat Patidar has not performed well enough to be treated like this.”

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Badrinath targets selectors’ big Hardik Pandya decision

The former CSK batsman has questioned the national selectors’ move to rest Hardik Pandya from the upcoming T20I matches. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that the decision has been taken to keep Hardik fresh and avoid any injury ahead of the ICC World Cup 2027.

However, Badrinath feels there is still a lot of time left in that tournament and Hardik should continue to prove himself after he had a poor IPL 2026 season. He believes the competition for places should remain open, especially when young all-rounders are looking for opportunities.

He signed off by saying, “Although he has said he is being rested with the 2027 World Cup in mind, what if Nitish Kumar Reddy actually performs well? Hardik has not played the entire IPL and his captaincy and form have been poor. And now he is not in the squad for the next three T20I assignments. Even if he has been tested or is battling injury, can’t his place be assessed after one series?”