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India’s poor performance in the ongoing five-match T20 series against Ireland and England has disappointed everyone. Following India’s two T20 series defeats, former chief selector MSK Prasad believes that Rajat Patidar should have been given a chance after his stellar performance in the IPL 2026 season.
Prasad feels that the Indian selectors and team management have made a mistake by ignoring the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain despite his stellar performances in recent years in the IPL and domestic cricket. He believes that Patidar has done a lot to make his India debut. Earlier, Irfan Pathan had urged Ajit Agarkar to select Rajat Patidar in India’s T20 team.
MSK Prasad demands to call Rajat Patidar to India
MSK Prasad said Rajat Patidar deserved a place in the India national cricket team and should have been selected at least for the upcoming three-match T20 series against Zimbabwe. The former chief selector further stressed that the right-handed batsman has proven himself as both a reliable batsman and a successful captain in the shorter format of the game.
Prasad believes that Patidar is a player who can win matches on his own. He said that the RCB captain plays proper cricket shots, understands different match situations well and can handle both fast bowling and spin without any problem.
Cricblogger quoted MSK Prasad as saying, “Rajat deserves a place. He should have been selected at least for the Zimbabwe series. Rajat is a match-winner. He plays proper cricket shots and adapts to different match situations with ease. He handled both spin and pace with equal ability.”
Rajat Patidar’s incredible IPL performance has raised big questions on India’s selection.
The comments of the former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman have once again raised questions on India’s selection policy. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar have often said that IPL performance plays an important part in the selection of players for the national team in T20Is.
Looking at Patidar’s recent performances, he has earned the right to wear the India jersey but was overlooked for the Ireland and England tours and now the Zimbabwe tour. The RCB captain has been one of the most consistent performers in the last two IPL seasons.
The Madhya Pradesh batsman scored 813 runs in the 2025 and 2026 editions and as captain played a key role in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s back-to-back title-winning campaigns. His batting improved massively in IPL 2026, where Patidar scored 501 runs in 15 matches at an average of 41.75 and an impressive strike rate of 192.69.
Showing his fearless power-hitting, he hit 42 sixes compared to just 14 in 2025. During the 2025 season, he also became the second fastest Indian batsman to complete 1,000 IPL runs. Amidst this, ‘he never blamed anyone’: Abhishek Nair recalls Rohit Sharma’s leadership amid Shreyas Iyer’s criticism.
Rajat Patidar sets MPL 2026 on fire ahead of India’s defeat
Patidar continued his excellent form while playing for Gwalior Cheetahs in the Madhya Pradesh League (MPL) 2026 held last month. The right-handed batsman impressed everyone with his fearless batting and aggressive strike rate, scoring 326 runs in 8 innings.
His best performances were an aggressive innings of 65 runs in just 30 balls against Malwa Stallions, 46 runs in 16 balls against Chambal Gharials and 45 runs in 23 balls against Rewa Jaguars, which proved that he is one of the most dangerous batsmen in domestic cricket.