Rajat Patidar during Duleep Trophy 2026 (Source: @crictalk7/X)
There were a lot of expectations around Rajat Patidar on Sunday, when he made his return to the Duleep Trophy as the captain of Central Zone. However, all he could manage with the bat was 12 runs off 41 deliveries before East Zone’s Mukesh Kumar cleaned him up during the 1st semi-final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1, Bengaluru.
It was a good-length delivery by Mukesh, who came to bowl the 27th over of Central Zone’s innings. Patidar, RCB’s back-to-back IPL-winning captain, tried to pull it towards the square-leg region.
Unfortunately for him, he got a bottom edge off the bat before the ball broke the stumps. Patidar was seen to be in total disappointment at the crease after his dismissal.
Rajat Patidar Fails To Recreate Duleep Trophy 2025 Magic
Patidar was in imperious form in the Duleep Trophy 2025. He had scores of 66, 125, 77, 13 and 101, tallying 382 runs at an average of 76.40 to lead Central Zone by example in securing a six-wicket defeat against South Zone in the final.
It appears the Duleep Trophy 2026 is not to be such a happy hunting ground for Patidar, at least for now.
Watch Rajat Patidar's Wicket Today Here:
Also Read: Rajat Patidar Named Central Zone Captain: Decoding RCB Skipper's Performance In Red-Ball Cricket
Patidar Struggled In India’s Domestic Circuit Last Year Except Duleep Trophy
Last year in the Ranji Trophy, Patidar, who plays for Madhya Pradesh, averaged 44.33 for 266 runs after seven innings. Even in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he did not have a great start, tallying 113 runs across seven matches at an average of only 16.14.
Even in the 2025 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Patidar scored 38 and 29 for Madhya Pradesh in his two innings.
Therefore, it can be said that Patidar did not have a great domestic form in India’s circuit across formats before coming to this fixture, although expectations around him remain high.
How Rajat Patidar Let His Bat Silence The Noise In IPL 2026
Despite the fact that Patidar did not have a great run of form in all three of India’s domestic competitions, he let his bat do the talking to silence the doubters in IPL 2026.
There, as RCB captain, he made 501 runs at a superb strike rate of 192.69, which included a 33-ball 93 in Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans.
As Patidar led from the front to help RCB win back-to-back IPL titles, there was a certain debate floating around him just when Suryakumar Yadav was reportedly to be sacked as India’s T20I captain.
There, many advocated for Patidar as his like-for-like replacement in India’s T20I set-up. However, the BCCI went the other way and gave Shreyas Iyer the responsibility of replacing Suryakumar Yadav.
Now, time will tell whether Patidar will have his time to shine with the bat for his country. Let’s not forget the fact that he is already 33 years old.
Also Read: Ishan Kishan's Injury Kicks Off Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Captaincy Era In Duleep Trophy 2026
