Rajat Patidar walked into the press conference room in Ahmedabad just after 1am on Monday holding the IPL trophy, and the smile on his face did most of the talking. For a captain who usually keeps his emotions tightly controlled, the brief glances at the silverware beside him were a clear signal of satisfaction after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) lifted the title for a second straight year.<\/p>\n
The moment carried extra sweetness for Patidar because it marked his 33rd birthday. He described the experience as something he could hardly have asked for more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m feeling great\u2026 it\u2019s a great feeling. It\u2019s my birthday. There can\u2019t be a better gift than this,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m the kind of person who focuses on living in the present. We\u2019ve won back-to-back, we\u2019ll celebrate, but the focus now is on how we can do this three in a row. When you win trophies, you don\u2019t dwell on individual performances. Nothing is bigger than this.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked to draw a comparison between the two runs to the championship, Patidar suggested that the 2026 campaign carried a sense of inevitability due to RCB\u2019s control during the group stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year had a lot of pressure,\u201d he explained. \u201cThis year I was more calm. The way we played through the tournament\u2014we didn\u2019t just play, we dominated. I was confident that if we continued like this, we could win the second title for RCB.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that while he is not naturally outwardly expressive as a leader, he is very conscious of match conditions and how situations evolve.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a captain, I\u2019m not very expressive, but I\u2019m aware of game situations. Of course you need backing\u2014there was a lot of it from the management and from the players.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patidar credited a deliberate approach to separating his responsibilities as a batter and as skipper. He said that the bulk of the preparation for his batting had been completed during the off-season with Dinesh Karthik, and that work translated strongly during the tournament.<\/p>\n
He also detailed how he spent significant time refining his batting habits before the competition began, including extended net sessions focused on his own timing and work against bowlers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took a lot of learnings as captain and as a batter,\u201d he said. \u201cI look at how much time I give myself to bat, and I spent a lot of time at the nets before the season\u2014just me and the bowlers. There was a lot of communication with DK bhai<\/i>, regarding my trigger movements and some technical adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patidar said he carried that preparation into the league and was able to execute it with clarity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I came to the IPL, I continued that and was able to execute. That gave me a lot of clarity as a batter. As captain, I learned a lot from Faf du Plessis\u2014how he carries himself, how his body language is always confident. That has taught me a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patidar paid special attention to the impact of Omkar Salvi, the bowling coach, describing how the work of a coach who often stays out of the spotlight can still be decisive\u2014particularly for younger players.<\/p>\n
He singled out Rasikh Salam, who enjoyed a standout season, saying the development he saw in the group was tied closely to Salvi\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen Omkar Salvi sir from my first Ranji season [in 2015],\u201d Patidar said. \u201cHe spends a lot of time one-on-one with every bowler. There is a lot of hard work that Salvi sir has done for the team. You won\u2019t see him in the meeting room\u2014he spends time one-on-one with the bowlers.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also expressed deep appreciation for Andy Flower, another coach he described as someone who prefers to divert attention toward the players rather than himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve played five seasons of the IPL and he is one of the best coaches,\u201d Patidar said. \u201cThe way he handles players\u2014not only those who play. For him, the players who aren\u2019t playing, the first-timers, he spends a lot of time with each individual. I don\u2019t have words to express, but he\u2019s the best coach I\u2019ve played under.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patidar added that the culture within the squad has shifted significantly since his arrival in 2021, and he credited the coaching setup for that change.<\/p>\n
The only moment in the interaction that turned sombre came when Patidar reflected on a tragedy that followed RCB\u2019s first championship last year. He referenced the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium during the celebrations, in which 11 fans lost their lives.<\/p>\n
For most of the conversation, Patidar focused on the pursuit of titles, defending the crown, and aiming at a third championship. But in his own moment of triumph, he paused to remember those who were not there to celebrate.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou feel bad obviously\u2014you lost your fans after winning the game\u2026 not fans, family members. So I want to dedicate this trophy to them. No words to express,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rajat Patidar walked into the press conference room in Ahmedabad just after 1am on Monday holding the IPL trophy, and the smile on his face…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"RCB IPL 2025 Title Win: Patidar Celebrates Back-to-Back","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Rajat Patidar opens up after RCB\u2019s back-to-back IPL title win in Ahmedabad, revealing how the team dominated and plans to build on success.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n