Rajat Patidar of India has had a difficult start to Test cricket, after receiving his first call-up in the longest format after excelling in provincial red-ball cricket and for India A.
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were missing. This gave Patidar a shot to hit high scores and carve his regular spot in Test cricket. Yet, he’s failed to shine, with a mere 63 runs over six innings and a poor 10.5 average. His performance at the batting crease hasn’t been impressive.
Despite having the uncapped Devdutt Padikkal in their squad, India are expected to give Rajat Patidar a vote of confidence for the fifth Test against England at Dharamshala.
A source told The Indian Express about this:
“The team wants Patidar to get one more chance as they feel Patidar has talent and it’s a matter of time before he gets runs. As India has already won the series, the team wants to try him out one more time instead of giving a debut to Devdutt Padikkal.”
In 2024, we’ll see Yuzvendra Chahal playing again. He’ll be in the Indian Premier League (IPL). His team? The Rajasthan Royals (RR). He’ll continue to play for them.
AB de Villiers believes India will back Rajat Patidar
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers stated that now that India has completed the series and is on a winning streak, they may continue to trust Rajat Patidar.
The former South African captain said:
“If his (Patidar) attitude is catchy and if he is a likable character in the dressing room, Rohit and the selection panel will have the ability to say, ‘Hold on, we do believe this guy has a future and we see him as a part of the team moving forward. Even though he hasn’t been scoring runs, let’s give him a longer run.”
AB de Villiers
Rajat Patidar may have one final chance to demonstrate that he have the necessary skills to succeed at the Test level.