Ravichandran Ashwin heaped praise on Rajat Patidar’s batting skills against spinners ahead of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL 2026 final against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday, May 31, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The former India off-spinner compared Patidar’s bat swing to that of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has taken the cricket fraternity by storm since last year with his six-hitting talent.
“He’s a demonic spin-hitter. He’s one of those very rare breeds of batters who climbs into deliveries using his feet, whether it’s towards the stumps, outside leg stump, or through the covers, he steps into it. That’s a very rare phenomenon,” Ashwin said of Patidar on JioHotstar.
Ashwin said that Patidar’s prowess against spinners stems from his compact frame and resounding bat swing.
“The reason he’s able to do it is that he’s diminutive in stature, but he’s got a great bat swing, which just dips and goes to the highest point where he can really start using those levers, very much like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi,” he added.
In Qualifier 1, Patidar sent the GT bowlers on a leather hunt in Dharamsala during his blistering knock of 93* off 33 balls. RCB won the match by 92 runs to enter their second consecutive final.
Cannot have spin bowlers bowling to Rajat Patidar at that venue: Ashwin warns Shubman Gill
Ashwin warned Gujarat captain Shubman Gill not to give the ball to Rashid Khan or any other spinner when Patidar is at the crease, as the right-handed batter would put them to the sword. Instead, the cricketer-turned-expert opined that bowling pacers to Patidar would be a better approach.
“It makes Shubman Gill’s work a bit harder. Rashid Khan got hit in the previous game, and that’s going to be playing on his mind. They cannot have spin bowlers bowling to Rajat Patidar at that venue. He’s going to take them to the cleaners. They need to get the fast bowlers attacking him, bowling back-of-a-length, good Test-match lengths, with fielders square on the off-side and asking him to go square,” he said.
Mindset is the same as last year’s final: Rajat Patidar
Ashwin opined that RCB are the favourites to lift the IPL trophy. However, he mentioned that Gujarat’s knowledge of the conditions at the Narendra Modi Stadium, which is their home ground, could be their only hope against the defending champions.
“For RCB, it doesn’t matter whether they bat or bowl first, it is their final to lose. They are going in as the favourites. Whatever they do, they must not regress or play any less attacking cricket than they have throughout the season,” Ashwin said.
“The fact that GT are playing at their home ground, and that they’ve dominated there and made it a fortress, is something that’s really going to give them that extra fillip going into the final. The two teams have very contrasting approaches. RCB have been willing to take that extra risk. They have a team with a few fighters in Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya, who have turned up the heat this season. GT’s home ground and their familiarity with those conditions is the only last piece of the puzzle standing between RCB and a second title,” he added.
