AHMEDABAD: His sizzling 54-ball, unbeaten 112 won RCB the Eliminator against LSG and made the world sit up and take notice of Rajat Patidar, but one man who has seen him from close quarters wasn't too surprised by the Madhya Pradesh batsman's stunning feat.
Former India stumper Chandrakant Pandit, who has been coaching MP for the past couple of years, told TOI, "Last year, during a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game against Saurashtra, I sent Rajat a message: 'Dede bahar (hit the ball out of the ground).' In the next six balls, he blasted four sixes and two fours, with all shots hit straight to the sightscreen. He has loads of ability. You just need to give him the license to hit. He has the skill to hit the ball over the fielder, and along the ground, but 90% of his shots are along the ground.
"He's a tremendous talent. Even if he makes 40 or 50 runs, he'll leave an impact."
Pandit, arguably the most successful coach in domestic cricket, asserts that his ward deserves an India cap soon. "If he plays two-three knocks like this, it will be difficult for the selectors to ignore him. He's good enough and should play for India in all the formats. His confidence level is different.
"Whether he gets out for 0 or scores a ton, his confidence remains the same. He's in a different league. The problem is that we don't judge the true worth of such players because he's not a showpony. Even if scores a double hundred, he'll sit in one corner quietly. However, he scores in every game and rarely fails," said Pandit.
"His shots off the backfoot and through covers are amazing, and it shows that he has a lot of time to play his shots. He's got a fearless approach."
Former BCCI secretary, ex-national selector and ex-Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association president Sanjay Jagdale says that he wasn't too surprised that Patidar achived a rare feat of becoming the first RCB batsman to hit a hundred in IPL Playoffs.
"He has a tendency of performing in big games and grabbing his chances. Two-three years back, he smashed a hundred against a Tamil Nadu attack which had Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. This time, he did that in the IPL. He's MP's best batsman. Two-three years ago, he underwent a knee surgery, but he worked hard on his fitness," says Jagdale.
