IPL 2023: 3 Players Who Can Replace Rajat Patidar in Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Squad

In another setback, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) top-order batter Rajat Patidar has been ruled out of Indian Premier League 2023 due to an Achilles heel injury and RCB has announced that the RCB coaches and management have decided not to name a replacement player for Rajat just yet. This is a fresh blow for the franchise and the Indian cricketer, whose IPL career started on a bright note last year.

Earlier, it was reported that Patidar was undergoing a rehab and conditioning program at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore over the past few days and it was believed that he would be joining the side for the second half of the IPL. Unfortunately for RCB, after crucial check-ups and a thoroughly vetted medical prognosis, he has been ruled out of the tournament for this edition.

IPL 2023: Patidar Out with a Heel Injury

The 2022 season saw Rajat Patidar come forth with all guns blazing for RCB. He was initially picked up as a replacement for an injured Luvnith Sisodia. Patidar was one of the best batters for RCB last season, scoring 333 runs in 7 innings at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 153. His short stint included one brilliant ton as well which came in the all-important Eliminator against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). In the next game, he smashed yet another half-century against the Rajasthan Royals in the next game.

Patidar finished the season as the third-highest run-scorer for the Challengers, with 333 runs to his name. With the bat, Patidar has proven his credentials well enough at the IPL level as well as in the domestic circuit and RCB are certain to miss him in the batting line-up. On that note, let’s take a look at RCB’s best options to bat at number 3 in the talented 29-year-old batter’s absence.

3) Rohan Kunnummal

Kunnummal was the star performer for his state team Kerala last year Kunnummal has had a decent time in domestic cricket. The Kerala opener has been a consistent performer for his state. He came to the limelight after smashing four centuries in five first-class matches a few months ago. The 24-year-old was in sublime form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022, where he racked up 414 runs in just seven matches, with a destructive strike rate of 131. A record-breaking 28-ball 77 knocks against Arunachal Pradesh and a majestic 134 against Goa at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium proved the quality of the batter.

The right-handed batter has the ability to find the boundaries in the powerplay and commanding a good game against spinners makes him a lucrative commodity. Not just this he is known as a player who can anchor the innings or give a dashing start, as per the requirement of the team.

2) Luvnith Sisodia

Luvnith Sisodia was picked by the RCB at last year’s mega auction to strengthen their pool of young batters. The opportunity was knocking on the door of the wicket-keeper batter last season and he had a golden chance to make it big in the lucrative T20 tournament. However, he got injured in the early stages of the tournament and was ruled out for the whole season. Rajat Patidar was called in as a replacement, he made full use of the opportunity. Due to Patidar’s breathtaking performances, the Bangalore franchise might look to part ways with Sisodia ahead of the last year’s auction.

He didn’t find any takers in the auction. Representing Hubli Tigers in Karnataka’s Maharaja T20 trophy, the right-handed batter slammed 389 runs in 11 innings at a blistering strike rate of 153.75 with the help of three half-centuries in the tournament, He even captained the team in some matches and led them to the playoffs. If given another opportunity to showcase his talent, Sisodia would be hungry to return to the league and perform well. Moreover, he has a safe pair of hands behind the stumps.

1) Priyam Garg

It came as a big surprise when former U19 World Cup-winning captain Priyam Garg went unsold in IPL 2023 auction. Garg was part of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the last season but was released by the team ahead of IPL 2023 mini-auction. He was given just 2 opportunities in the last season in which he scored 46 runs. His strike rate was around 140. Overall since his debut, he couldn’t make the most of the opportunities given by SRH management and could only manage to accumulate 251 runs in 17 innings at a poor average of 15.69 and strike rate of 115.14.

The 22-year-old has a stellar record in first-class cricket where he’s scored 1639 runs at an average of 51.21 with four hundred and ten fifties to his credit. These numbers are a testament to his hard work in the nets and his will to be back in the reckoning. Hence, he deserves another run in the cash-rich league and the RCB management could look at Garg as a backup to their star-studded batting lineup. To get a talented batter like Garg at INR 20 Lakh would be a steal considering the amount of talent he has. This could be a great value for money buy for RCB.