As Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 kicks off, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) retired the jersey numbers of their former players AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle. While, AB de Villiers, who played 11 seasons for RCB has scored 4,491 runs in 156 matches for the franchise–and has been a pillar of support for Virat Kohli at the RCB camp, meanwhile in the ‘RCB Insider’ show, veteran South African named one RCB batter for whom he will give his retired No.17 jersey.
AB de Villiers believes this youngster will be a stalwart for RCB in the future-
“That’s a tough question. Maybe Rajat Patidar. “The Pata Man”. I gave him that nickname. He looks good. He will be a stalwart for RCB in the future. I want to give it to a youngster, maybe Rajat,” said the Ex-SA skipper.
Meanwhile, Rajat Patidar is not playing in IPL 2023, as he hurt his Achilles heel ahead of joining the RCB training camp and despite treatment, he failed to recover from his injury.
Earlier, RCB announced the replacements for the injured players including England’s Reece Topley and Madhya Pradesh’s Rajat Patidar on April 7, 2023. South Africa’s Wayne Parnell and Karnataka’s Vyshak Vijay Kumar will join the team shortly.
GT v RCB: Post Match Dressing Room Interviews
Coach Sanjay Bangar analyses RCB’s loss, highlights the positives and learnings, while Mahipal Lomror and Rajat Patidar talk about their performances today.#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2022 #Mission2022 #RCB #ನಮ್ಮRCB pic.twitter.com/x4mZWBQXle
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) May 1, 2022
While, in last week the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), confirmed that injured Indian cricketers Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar will undergo surgery in the UK for their respective injuries and the expense for Patidar’s injuries will be born the board.
The 29-year-old jumped into the limelight thanks to his whirlwind century for the RCB in the playoffs match of IPL 2022, in that edition he played 8 matches and scored 333 runs for Faf du Plessis-led side. He made his IPL debut in 2021 while playing for RCB.
“Always. I knew it was going to happen (Du Plessis to RCB). Faf is the perfect fit. I think he is going to bring us a trophy. I think he is very happy. When he arrived here, he realized why I have always been so happy over the years,” said AB on RCB’s skipper.
Whereas in IPL 2023, RCB has played five matches in which they have won two and are currently placed in the 8th spot. Now for the sixth game of the season Bengaluru-based side will take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) on April 22 at Mohali.