Former Australia cricketer Michael Clarke has praised Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar, both for his captaincy and batting, after a stellar IPL 2026 season. Patidar led RCB to their second successive IPL title win, making RCB the third team to win successive IPL titles after CSK and MI.
In addition to leading the team from the front, the RCB captain was essential with the bat. In the middle order, Patidar had another fantastic IPL season, amassing 501 runs at an astounding strike rate of 192.69.
He consistently performed well under duress, whether he was initiating counterattacks when RCB needed quick runs or stabilizing the innings following early wickets.
Michael Clarke believes Patidar's performances have not received the recognition they deserve. Clarke picked the RCB captain as one of the IPL 2026's most underappreciated performers, claiming that the presence of Virat Kohli frequently means that other crucial contributors receive less notice.
"Patidar had a stellar tournament again and is my player under the radar. Virat Kohli being in the team will always be the most spoken-about player. But Patidar has done an exceptional job with the way he leads and gets the best out of all of his players. His own performance, batting in the tough middle order, has been fantastic," Clarke said on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast.
Clarke further stated that under Patidar, RCB seemed to be a changed team, and having won them two IPL titles in two years, the MP batter should be in discussions surrounding India's T20I side.
"Though he's 31, there has to be a talk about him in the Indian T20 team. I don't know if he will captain India, but he has leadership qualities. His middle-order batting has been phenomenal. Batting at No. 4 is the hardest in T20s, and he comes in at the position and just explodes," he added.
According to Clarke, captaining a team to consecutive IPL titles is an accomplishment that selectors cannot ignore. While competition for slots remains fierce in Indian cricket, Clarke believes Patidar has done enough to put himself at the top of the list for white-ball possibilities.
"India has a lot of talent at the moment, and a number of them are fighting to get into the Indian team from this IPL. But if you captain a team that goes on to win back-to-back IPL tournaments, the BCCI and the Indian selectors must be talking about him. His name must be in front of the queue in T20s, and he could even be looked at in ODI cricket," said Clarke.
With 500-plus runs and two IPL trophies under his belt as RCB captain, Rajat Patidar’s case is certainly becoming difficult to ignore. However, it remains to be seen whether the success translates into an India recall.
