Rajat Patidar breaks silence on India’s T20 captaincy, sets sight on back-to-back IPL titles | Cricket News

TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: Rajat Patidar stands on the brink of history. A victory over Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad will make the Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper only the third captain after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to win back-to-back Indian Premier League (IPL) titles.“I’ve never thought about what another captain has done before, and whether I want to compete with someone or not. I’ve never thought about that,” he told reporters here.“And as an individual, my journey has been a rollercoaster. I’ve never focused on that. Wherever I am, I focus on what I can do best.“I’ve never thought about moving forward or going back. If I’m here, I’m just focusing on what I can do before the final. Tomorrow is the final, so we’ll try to give our best,” he added.Having guided RCB to their long-awaited maiden crown in 2025, Patidar now has the chance to cement his place among the league’s most successful leaders on the biggest stage.Patidar played a belligerent 33-ball 93 against GT in Qualifier 1 and propelled his team to a thumping 92-run win.Patidar’s stock has risen significantly in recent times, and the swashbuckling batter from Madhya Pradesh, who will turn 33 in a couple of days, is increasingly being viewed as someone who could lead India in T20Is.However, the right-handed batter, who has played three Tests and a solitary ODI for India, is yet to make his debut in the game’s shortest format. On the eve of the final, he dismissed questions about both national selection and any ambitions of captaining India.“I’m not looking forward to any selection regarding India. So, I’m not looking forward to it,” he said when asked about an India call-up.On India’s captaincy, Patidar said: “I don’t visualise being the T20 captain of India. But at the same time, every captain wants to win trophies.”Patidar joined RCB in IPL 2022 as a mid-season replacement for the injured Luvnith Sisodia. He ended IPL 2022 with 333 runs from eight innings at an impressive strike rate of 152.50. Among his standout performances was a breathtaking 112 off 54 balls against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator. Though RCB’s campaign ended in the very next game, he carried his rich vein of form with a fluent 58 in Qualifier 2 against Rajasthan Royals. A few weeks later, he capped off his dream run by smashing a match-winning century for Madhya Pradesh against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy final.IPL 2022 turned out to be a game-changer for Patidar.In IPL 2025, he was handed the captaincy of RCB, a franchise that had never won the trophy. They had come agonisingly close multiple times but had never managed to lift the title.After winning one title and standing on the brink of another, Patidar is not looking at the past.“Last year we did it, but again it’s a new season. You cannot keep talking about 2025 and what we did. You have to be more in the present and do whatever best you can do to win the title,” he said.“I don’t think we changed anything or are thinking differently. We are in the same mindset. But as I said earlier, we are not here to defend anything with the mindset of defending champions. We have an opportunity to win one more title.“We have to keep that sort of mindset that we are here to win the title, not defend anything that we did in 2025. It’s a new season and a new opportunity to do it again in 2026.”He also pointed to the cultural change within the RCB setup, which was once heavily dependent on one or two players.“Earlier, there were one or two players the team depended on. But now every player is taking responsibility when he goes out to bat or bowl,” Patidar said.“So I think the word ‘responsibility’ is the main thing that every individual is thinking about. Responsibility and being eager to contribute to the team.“And having the same mindset that we are not here just to play qualifiers. We are here to play finals and win finals. So I think that mindset has changed.”