In what could be a big blow to the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their 2023 campaign, their star domestic talent Rajat Patidar has been ruled out of the entire season due to the Achilles Heel injury. While earlier he was expected to be part of the squad for some matches in the latter half of the season, the franchise has confirmed that he will not play any part in the tournament moving forward.
The Faf du Plessis-led side have not yet announced a replacement for the right-handed batter who scored a hundred in the Eliminator last season.
"Unfortunately, Rajat Patidar has been ruled out of #IPL2023 due to an Achilles Heel injury. 💔 We wish Rajat a speedy recovery and will continue to support him during the process. 💪 The coaches and management have decided not to name a replacement player for Rajat just yet," the franchise tweeted.
Bangalore though had a pretty good start to their campaign in the absence of Patidar as they registered a comfortable win over Mumbai Indians in their opening match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and invited MI to have a bat first.
Overcoming a poor start, the Blue and Gold Brigade did manage to post a 171/7, thanks largely to Tilak Varma's unbeaten 84 but it did not prove to be enough as the hone team chased down the total in just 16.2 overs with Virat Kohli staying not out at the end on 82. Skipper Du Plesiss also scored 73.