The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side have been dealt a huge blow as ace batter Rajat Patidar has been confirmed to be ruled out of the ongoing IPL 2023 due to his heel injury, the franchise confirmed on Tuesday, 04 April 2023.
After hammering record-time winners Mumbai Indians (MI) in their IPL 2023 opener, the Virat Kohli-starred side is gearing up for their upcoming match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens.
RCB coach Sanjay Bangar had hoped that Rajat Patidar would miss only the first half of the season and the management was hopeful that he would be available at some stage.
He had said: “As far as Rajat goes, at this point he’s out of our control, at the NCA he’s sort of undergoing treatment in that particular academy and we are still waiting for the clarifications from him. And once we get the clarifications, our media team will certainly keep you in the loop and it might also be the case the NCA will take a very sporting call on what he does or what his future holds.”
Patidar had been wonderful for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their playoffs run in the IPL 2022. Patidar had a breakout year for the RCB in IPL 2022 in their team’s journey till Qualifier 2. In the huge Eliminator match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Patidar scored an unbeaten 112-run knock that helped Bangalore to bag the game by 14 runs.
We Wish Rajat Patidar A Speedy Recovery- Royal Challengers Bangalore
He was supposed to be a crucial player in their already jampacked batting lineup. He has played 45 T20s scoring 1466 runs at an average of 37.58 and strike rate of 147.93 with 72 sixes and 112 fours with one century and 12 fifties to his name.
He had injured his Achilles heel ahead of joining the RCB camp for the IPL 2022 and the franchise had hoped for him to get better and join the side at some point of time in the second half of the season.
However, the RCB franchise has confirmed on Twitter that the talented right-hander has been ruled out of the entire IPL 2023 tournament and that they have not asked for a replacement for him, for now.
“Unfortunately, Rajat Patidar has been ruled out of #IPL2023 due to an Achilles Heel injury. We wish Rajat a speedy recovery and will continue to support him during the process. The coaches and management have decided not to name a replacement player for Rajat just yet,” the tweet from RCB read.
Unfortunately, Rajat Patidar has been ruled out of #IPL2023 due to an Achilles Heel injury. ?
We wish Rajat a speedy recovery and will continue to support him during the process. ?
The coaches and management have decided not to name a replacement player for Rajat just yet. ?️ pic.twitter.com/c76d2u70SY
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 4, 2023
The MP star is currently nursing a heel injury at the NCA and is expected to be on the sidelines for long.