Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Rajat Patidar was selected for the India A team but suffered a major setback in the form of an injury during the first four-day match against South Africa A. He has been out for almost four months.
Rajat Patidar came into limelight after a successful season in the IPL, when he led Royal Challengers Bangalore to the title for the first time in the history of the tournament. Patidar was among the three players retained by RCB ahead of last season.
Rajat Patidar currently leads Madhya Pradesh in the Indian domestic season and has also captained Central Zone during the 2025 Duleep Trophy season. He was selected to play for India in the England tour last year but was ultimately dropped from the team.
Rajat Patidar got injured against South Africa A
Rajat Patidar suffered a serious injury during the first unofficial Test against South Africa A at the BCCI Center of Excellence. According to Dainik Jagran journalist Abhishek Tripathi, his injury is reportedly so serious that it could keep him out of the game for a long time, which is expected to be around four months.
He was in full form before a setback when he was selected for the India A series against South Africa A. He scored runs consistently, especially in red-ball cricket and he aspires to make a comeback into the Indian team and the Indian team is looking for a No. 1 batsman. For the long term 3.
Furthermore, Rajat Patidar’s injury is also a big blow for Madhya Pradesh, as the injury came just before the Ranji Trophy season and other domestic tournaments.
Due to injury, Rajat Patidar will remain away from cricket for four months. Sawida played in the first four ODIs against South Africa A.
-Abhishek Tripathi/Abhishek Tripathi (@abishereporter) 8 November 2025
Rajat Patidar ends domestic season on a high note
After the conclusion of IPL 2025, where he successfully led Royal Challengers Bangalore to their maiden trophy, he played in the Duleep Trophy, which marked the beginning of the domestic season in the Indian domestic circle.
He captained Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy and on the strength of his brilliant century, he finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer. He scored a maximum of 382 runs in his 5 innings at an average of 76.50. He scored two centuries and as many half-centuries.
Later, playing in the Irani Cup, he played a struggling inning of 66 and then scored his maiden first-class double century on the debut of the domestic Ranji Trophy season. In the South Africa series, he could score only 19 and 28 runs in two innings.
Will this injury affect his IPL campaign?
Rajasthan Patidar is also likely to lead the defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming season of IPL 2026. He is also one of their leading batsmen in the middle-order and makes important contributions with the bat.
Last season, he did not perform that well with the bat, as he scored just 312 runs at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 143.77. In those 12 innings he also scored 2 half-centuries.
At the moment, the recovery period from the injury is around 4 months, and hence, he should be back before the upcoming season; However, if he does not recover in time, Jitesh Sharma can potentially serve as a leader, as he did in the 2025 season.
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