The former director of the Cricket of the RCB franchise Mike Hesson who took charge from 2020 until 2023 has shared his views and get excited on Rajat Patidar’s promotion as RCB captain ahead of the IPL 2025 captain.
It was Hesson and his team who identified Patidar’s batting talent when they bought him at his base price of INR 20 lakhs at the IPL 2021 auction.
Mike Hesson handed a special message to Patidar after announced as RCB captain. “I got a few goosebumps actually when Rajat was appointed,” said Hesson.
“I was really proud because he’s a quality young man. He’s had some pretty tough times. Cricket wise when he was absolutely at the peak of his powers – he scored that hundred against LSG in the Eliminator and then scored 58 against Rajasthan in the Qualifier – he was absolutely flying and then he got an Achilles injury.”
“Basically he was out for a year. There was a lot of time where we would push and pull, there were a lot of discussions in terms of can we get him back for that year, can he be fit.”
Stating that RCB certainly missed Patidar in 2023, Mike Hesson mentioned that he was always confident that he would repay the faithful given his prowess as a player.
“I think his best format to be fair are the shorter formats,” said Mike Hesson. “I know his first-class record is exceptional but he has explosive power from a stable base which is just unheard of really for a man of that stature. And he can short-arm pull off the genuine quicks into the stands. He’s a proper player and just a really laid back sort of character.”
Making his IPL debut in 2021 season, Rajat Patidar has played 27 matches in the tournament, scoring 799 runs with a high score of 112* runs at an average of 34.74 and a strike rate of 158.85.
RCB will be playing their first match of the IPL 2025 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 22 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
