The 27-year-old batsman from Indore, Rajat Patidar, who asserts being a fan of Royal Challenger Bangalore (RCB), admitted that he was nervous before meeting the two stars.
The Indian Premier League (IPL), which now stands suspended because of COVID-19, provides the stage to young cricketers like Patidar to showcase their talent and they also get a chance to share the dressing room with their favourite cricketers. In the four games he played for RCB so far, Patidar has scored 71 runs.
Recently, the youngster opened up about his experience in the IPL during an interview with the RCB’s official website and said that he always liked the franchise before getting a chance to play in the tournament.
“RCB has always been my favourite team because of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli. Luckily, I got a chance to play with them. I was nervous before meeting them, but I liked it a lot after coming here,” Patidar revealed.
His highest score of 31 runs in this year’s IPL came against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Ahmedabad. It was one of the most thrilling games, where his team registered a one-run victory. He was involved in crucial partnerships with Maxwell and De Villiers after RCB lost both their openers, Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal early.
Speaking about his interaction with the two greats of the game during the match, Patidar said: “We talked about the match situation and how we can play while being calculative. We knew if we do that right, we can overcome the pressure situation. That is what we were talking about.”
Patidar began his cricketing career as a spin bowler but later turned into a top-order batsman. He was also the leading run-scorer in the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy, with 713 runs in eight matches.
The suspension of the IPL would have come as a setback for Patidar and other RCB players as they were looking good, having momentum on their side. With five wins in 7 matches, they were one of the favourites to reach the playoffs.
