Rajat Patidar and Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday created history by becoming the third captain and team respectively to defend the IPL title.
RCB defeated Gujarat Titans Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the same venue where they won the title last year, and won two consecutive IPL titles, both coming under Patidar’s captaincy.
Only two other teams before RCB had won the IPL title in two consecutive years. CSK under MS Dhoni in 2010 and 2011 were the first to do so, followed by Mumbai Indians under Rohit Sharma in 2019 and 2020.
After the final, Rajat Patidar spoke in the press conference about what made RCB become consecutive IPL champions.
“I’m not very expressive” – Rajat Patidar
Patidar was asked to reflect on his poker-faced captaincy, which has come to the fore in the IPL over the last two years. He has become quite infamous for not allowing any kind of emotion to show on his face during matches.
Patidar said that even though he didn’t show it on his face, he always knew what to do as a captain on the field and he always had things going on in his mind.
“As a captain, I am not very expressive. At the same time, I am aware of the game situation,” he said.
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“I’ve learned a lot from him” – Rajat Patidar on Faf du Plessis
Patidar credits former RCB skipper for his captaincy and how he conducted himself Faf du PlessisHe said he had learned many things from South Africans.
Rajat Patidar said, “As a captain, I learned a lot from Faf du Plessis – how he presents himself, his confidence, his body language. I learned a lot from him.”
“He spent a lot of time with the bowlers” – bowling coach Rajat Patidar
Just before IPL 2025, RCB has appointed Omkar Salvi as its fast bowling coach. By then Salvi had worked as the head coach of Mumbai in domestic cricket.
The move was made in keeping with Patidar’s desire to create a powerful fast bowling attack. This was one of the things that Patidar said when he first became captain that the RCB set-up needed improvement.
Since then, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar KumarAnd Rasikh Salam Dar has formed one of the best fast bowling line-ups of the IPL.
Rajat Patidar credited Salvi for spending time alone with the bowlers.
“I have watched Omkar Salvi sir since he started his first Ranji season. That’s where I have been watching him from,” he said.
“He spends a lot of time one-on-one with each bowler. He has worked very hard for the team. We don’t always see him in meetings or talking to groups, but he works with the players individually.” He spent a lot of one-on-one time, especially with the bowlers. “It really helped them.”
“There has been a change in mentality” – Patidar
When asked what was the reason behind RCB not winning any trophy in 18 years and consecutive IPL titles, Patidar said that the mentality has changed.
He also talked about the cultural change that has taken place within the team.
“The culture has definitely changed, but I can’t compare from before because I have only played since 2021,” he said. Patidar said, “What I see now is a change in mentality. The coaching staff deserves full credit. They treat every player equally – whether experienced or new. This is the biggest change I have seen.”
He also said that Andy Flower was the best coach he played under.
“This is the best birthday gift for me” – Patidar
Since Monday, June 1 is Rajat Patidar’s 33rd birthday, he was asked about the celebrations going on at night.
Despite his birthday approaching, Patidar is focused on next year’s IPL.
He said, “It feels really good. It’s the best gift because today is my birthday, so nothing can be better than this. But I try to stay in the present. We have to focus now on how we can do three in a row. We will celebrate today, but then the focus shifts again.”
No team has ever won three consecutive IPL titles, and only a few teams Have won their league three consecutive times in all T20 cricket.
Also Read: “It feels great”: Rajat Patidar happy as RCB clinches second consecutive IPL title with win over GT.