Not Dinesh Karthik, Rajat Patidar Gives Credit To 'This' Person For Batting Resurgence

Patidar gives credit to RCB great for batting resurgence [Source: AFP]

Even before the start of the IPL 2026, the RCB side was the favourite to lift the trophy. The squad had no real weakness, and they had a settled unit that won the title in 2025. As expected, the Rajat Patidar-led side delivered the goods and defeated the Gujarat Titans in a one-sided contest to win the tournament.

RCB’s win in IPL 2026 was a team effort, with each individual stepping up whenever needed. Just like IPL 2025, the recently concluded season witnessed multiple match-winners, and that was the reason why RCB had a cakewalk in the finale.

While the likes of Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar rightly deserve to receive the credit for their stupendous performance, one shouldn’t forget the skipper, Rajat Patidar.

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Rajat Patidar's rise as captain/batter in IPL

Patidar joined RCB as a replacement player, and he immediately made a mark by smashing a century in the IPL 2022 eliminator vs the LSG side. He continued to have a rise in the IPL, but it was ahead of IPL 2025 that Patidar had a major turnaround.

He led RCB to back-to-back IPL titles (2025, 2026) and became just the third IPL skipper to attain this feat. Moreover, the recently concluded season was the first time he crossed the 500-run mark in the tournament, and that too, at a strike rate of 192.

Patidar is often hailed as the “best spin hitter” in the IPL, and the RCB captain has hailed one of his RCB coaching staff for his resurgence as a batter.

Not Dinesh Karthik, Patidar credits Freddie Wilde for rise in IPL

Dinesh Karthik, the former Indian cricketer, is RCB’s batting coach/mentor, and Patidar had closely worked with him in the RCB setup. However, instead of Karthik, Patidar gave credit to RCB’s Team Analyst, Freddie Wilde, for his resurgence.

The RCB captain revealed how Wilde gave him videos of world-class spin bowlers to analyse, and by watching their videos, he improved his spin game.

"People always used to say I am a spin basher but to be honest, picking the ball from their hands, the credit goes to Freddie because he helped me a lot - 4 or 5 times in the IPL, I called Freddie. I needed videos of bowlers especially spinners like Rashid, Narine & Varun. I wanted to understand the differences in their deliveries and where I could pick them from".

IPL 2026, Patidar's best season in terms of spin-hitting

Patidar, the spin-basher, had his best IPL season in terms of spin-hitting in 2026. The right-handed batter, in 11 innings, smashed 124 runs in just 60 deliveries, with an astonishing strike rate of 206.7.

He struck 14 sixes against them, his second-best tally after IPL 2024, where he hammered 22 sixes against spin-bowlers. He also dominated some of the best spinners in the business, and the credit was given to RCB's team analyst.

Overall, in IPL 2026, Patidar accumulated 501 runs in 15 matches, with a strike rate of 192, including 5 fifties. The RCB great smashed 42 sixes in the season, showcasing his ability to clear the field with utmost ease.

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