The T20I squads named for the Ireland and England series along with the Asian Games mark an unmissable change for Indian cricket. Shreyas Iyer is the new captain, while the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been picked as well. The selection is one with a clear eye on the future, and the BCCI selectors have set their sights on the 2028 T20 World Cup. One name, however, that was missing from the squads was Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar.
Apart from leading RCB to the title, Patidar brought out a power-hitting avatar of himself as the No. 4 batter. In fact, apart from Heinrich Klaasenno other no. 4 batter had as much impact as Patidar. He scored 501 in 15 matches at an average of 41.75.
India great Harbhajan Singh was ‘sad’ that Patidar was not picked. “Sad no Rajat Patidar in the Indian squad. What else does he need to do? Scored 501 runs, strike rate almost 200. Unfair @rrjjt_01 Easily the best middle order in India. Proper striker with good technique,” Harbhajan Singh wrote on X.
Sad no Rajat Patidar in the Indian squad. What else he needs to do? Scored 501 runs strike rate almost 200. Unfair 💔 @rrjjt_01 Easily the best middle order in India. Proper striker with good technique
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) June 6, 2026
The middle-order batter was overlooked even as the selection committee made a plethora of changes to the squad, bringing in Vaibhav Sooryavanshi whilst replacing Suryakumar Yadav as captain with Shreyas Iyer.
When Ajit Agarkarthe chief of the BCCI selection committee, was asked about the decision to snub Patidar, he admitted that not all deserving players can be selected as only 15 members can be named in the squad.
“We discussed a host of players. We think these 15 are deserving. There are a lot of good players in India. There are plenty who are good enough to walk into the team, but the guys playing are doing as well as they can. We think we’ve picked a good squad. There will always be players missing out, but we’ve picked a good squad, and we are happy with this one,” Agarkar said, speaking at a press conference on Saturday.
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