Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris reckons Royal Challengers Bengaluru shouldn’t risk letting Rajat Patidar into the IPL 2025 mega auction. Patidar has been in sublime form in the ongoing IPL 2024 and has played a key role in his team’s turnaround.
After managing a solitary win out of their first eight matches, RCB has won five matches on the bounce. Meanwhile, Rajat Patidar has scored 320 runs in 11 innings at an average of 29.09 and a blistering strike rate of 179.77. The right-hander has scored five fifties, out of which four have come in the last five games.
Patidar has hit the ground running for RCB and has batted with an aggressive approach from the get-go. Styris wants RCB to retain Rajat Patidar ahead of the mega auction.
“Rajat Patidar has come on leaps and bounds. We knew the talent he possessed anyway. But, if I were in charge of RCB and if I were allowed to keep four players,” Styris told Jio Cinema on Thursday, May 16.
“Rajat Patidar would be one of the four. Think of all the big names, arguably one of the bigger names around him. But, he would be one of the names I would retain. I will be like ‘no, no, we are not even risking putting you back out in the open market. You are too good’. I think he will go from strength to strength every year,” he added.
Meanwhile, RCB will need to beat CSK by at least 18 runs if they post 200 runs in their last league stage match of the season to qualify for the playoffs. If RCB bats second, they will need to chase down the target with 11 balls to spare to topple CSK’s Net Run Rate but the rain gods could also play the killjoy for RCB.
RCB will take on CSK at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Saturday.
