Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans are all set to get a much awaited news, the news about their skipper Rajat Patidar’s return after sustaining a major injury. The star batter is on the verge to getting back into to competitive matches. But when? Let’s know about the possible date.
The return date of Rajat Patidar
Rajat Patidar has recovered from a minor left knee injury and has been cleared to play by the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence. He will rejoin the Madhya Pradesh team in Kolkata on Friday and will be available for the third round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Sunday. Patidar is the captain of MP. He has not been able to play competitive cricket for the last four weeks.
After playing for India A in the first unofficial Test against South Africa A, he had been experiencing persistent knee pain. This also kept him away from some Ranji Trophy matches. He experienced this pain during MP’s first Ranji match against Punjab on October 15.
Patidar completed a 10-day rehab program and the COE medical team has cleared him to resume playing. He has already started batting in the nets. Before the injury, Patidar was in excellent form. He started the Ranji season with a double century against Punjab. During this time, as captain of Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy, he also scored two centuries and two half-centuries during their title run.
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26 will be his first white-ball tournament since the IPL 2025, where he led the Royal Challengers Bangalore to their first title. Patidar was subsequently named captain of the state team across all formats, replacing Shubham Sharma.
MP finished runner-up in the last Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season, and Patidar’s contribution was crucial. He was the second-highest-scoring batsman in the tournament with 428 runs. He scored at a strike rate of 186.08 in nine innings, and his 27 sixes were the most in that season.