Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Rajat Patidar recently participated in the ‘This or That’ challenge ahead of the IPL 2026 season and chose former Australian batsman Michael Hussey over current Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir in the IPL Legends edition of the challenge.
Rajat Patidar will be leaving with his head held high, as for the first time in IPL history, RCB will start as defending champions. The team was very consistent last time under his leadership and they will be hoping for a similar trend this time too.
He will be hoping not only to have a great season for the Challengers but also to take comprehensive control of his own innings after scoring 312 runs at an average of just 24 with a strike rate of 143.77 in the last edition.
RCB captain chose Australian great player in place of Gautam Gambhir
IPL-winning RCB captain Rajat Patidar made some quirky choices in his recent ‘This or That’ challenge ahead of the upcoming IPL season in 2026. His most controversial choice came in the ‘IPL Legends’ edition of the challenge, where he chose many unexpected names compared to others.
He started by selecting legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne in place of former CSK star Brendon McCullum. He insisted on going with Warne instead of his countryman Shane Watson, but ultimately could not resist Michael Hussey. He seemed impressed by the former CSK and MI star.
Patidar has been associated with the former Australian veteran left-handed batsman, who opened the innings for teams like Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in the IPL and won several titles with them. He chose Hussey in place of Gautam Gambhir, one of the most legendary opening batsmen of the IPL and one of the best captains.
Currently, Gautam Gambhir is the national head coach of India, and Michael Hussey serves as the batting consultant of Chennai Super Kings.
Who is Rajat Patidar’s final choice in ‘This or That’ challenge?
However, Rajat Patidar’s final choice in the ‘This or That’ challenge was not Mr. Cricket, as he showed loyalty to the Challengers by choosing two of their most legendary players over anyone else.
He finally overtook Michael Hussey when he was compared to the Universe Boss, the greatest T20 entertainer of all time, Chris Gayle. He stuck to Gayle instead of South African fast bowler Dale Steyn and God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar.
However, his final choice to end the ‘This or That’ challenge was none other than explosive former RCB batsman AB de Villiers. ABD had played for years in the RCB camp and was one of the three big pillars for them in the IPL.
Gautam Gambhir’s coaching role is under scrutiny amid T20 World Cup crisis
Gautam Gambhir took over the role of India’s head coach after Rahul Dravid stepped down following their victory in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. Within the next six months of his appointment, Gambhir won his first Champions Trophy title with Team India in 2025.
However, Gautam Gambhir faced many struggles during his coaching days, including the team’s consistently poor performance in the longest format of the game, in which he had once excelled; Poor strategies led to humiliation in ODIs and controversial team selections; and more.
However, the only thing that helped them progress was India’s dominance in the shortest format of the game under his guidance. However, missing out on this T20 World Cup could dent his hopes of retaining the post till the end of his contract in 2027.
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