The fight for the No.4 spot in India's T20I team is heating up, and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar is doing the best he can to earn a national call-up. The right-handed batter is breaking the door down and making it extremely hard for the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee to ignore him for the upcoming assignments against Ireland and England. On Tuesday, Patidar played an unbeaten knock of 93 in Qualifier 1 against the Gujarat Titans to help the defending champions enter yet another Indian Premier League (IPL) final.
Patidar's knock was studded with five boundaries and nine sixes, and it was no surprise to see him being adjudged as Player of the Match. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was mightily pleased with how the 32-year-old approached his innings and conducted himself in such a high-profile game in Dharamsala.
Ashwin reckons that the time has come for Patidar's name to be debated in terms of Indian selection, and he also believes that the right-hander stands on the same footing as Shreyas Iyer, the Punjab Kings captain.
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“There must be a discussion. If it doesn’t happen, then something is wrong. Rajat Patidar played an important knock, but this is not the first time; he has a great record in Qualifiers,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
{{/usCountry}}“There must be a discussion. If it doesn’t happen, then something is wrong. Rajat Patidar played an important knock, but this is not the first time; he has a great record in Qualifiers,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
{{/usCountry}}“Before this knock, Shreyas Iyer was a little ahead of Rajat Patidar. But after today’s knock, Rajat Patidar is right up there. We all know how Rajat Patidar plays spinners, but today, he did well against the fast bowlers as well. It was surprising that no GT bowler tested him with the bouncer,” he added.
‘Give him chance’
Ashwin believes that if Patidar manages to win the IPL for the RCB once again, then it would be extremely important to give him a chance and include him in the squad for the Ireland and England series.
“If Shreyas Iyer’s amazing form coincided with PBKS making it to the playoffs, [it would have been ideal]. I still think Shreyas Iyer is in contention, but if, by captaining RCB and reaching the final with such a knock, who knows, he might defend the title as well, then it is important to talk about him. Not just talk, it is important to give him a chance,” Ashwin said.
In the 14 matches he has played in the IPL 2026 season, Patidar has scored 486 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 196.76. His strike rate in the 19th edition of the T20 tournament has been better than that of other middle-order batters such as Heinrich Klaasen (159.47) and Shreyas Iyer (168.81).