When the BCCI selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, announced India’s squads for the T20I series against Ireland and England and the subsequent Asian Games campaign, fans were surprised to see the in-form Rajat Patidar being overlooked.
Last month, Patidar became only the third captain to win back-to-back IPL titles. MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma had achieved the feat earlier while leading the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians, respectively. During IPL 2026, Patidar led from the front, scoring crucial runs through the middle overs and winning several games for his team. In the end, he finished with an impressive record of 501 runs in 15 matches at an average of 41.75 and a strike rate of 192.69. This included five half-centuries.
A few days after the squad selection, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) took to social media and seemingly took a subtle dig at the selectors for not picking their captain, Patidar. The two-time champions posted stats of Patidar since 2024, such as his tally of 1208 runs from 41 innings with 12 half-centuries. They also added some of his records, like hitting 89 sixes in that period, which is the most by any Indian non-opener; a strike rate of 172.57, highest by an Indian non-opener (minimum 500-plus runs); and 74.25% runs coming from boundaries in IPL 2026, most by an Indian middle-order batter.
Bro literally broke the door open and walked away… 😂 pic.twitter.com/rHQcQDSFEz
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) June 8, 2026
After the squads were announced, chief selector Ajit Agarkar was asked whether his team discussed Patidar’s name in the selection meeting.
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“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 while explaining Patidar’s absence from the squad.
