Rajat Patidar (BCCI/IPL Photo)
New Delhi: Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru went into their IPL 2026 decider against Punjab Kings at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala without regular captain Rajat Patidar. In Patidar’s absence, the team was led by wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma.RCB are the defending Indian Premier League champions, having defeated Punjab Kings in the 2025 final to lift the title.
Jitesh came out for the toss as stand-in captain after Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first.“We will bowl. I don’t rely on statistics, we see clearly how the matches will end. If we bat and bowl well, the toss doesn’t matter. I had no idea this was my 100th match as captain, but this is a great feeling.”
“It’s a great opportunity for me to win my 100th match (as captain),” Iyer said during the draw.“The bowling was great, but there are moments of pressure when you need to execute and so you can’t change the past, you can’t predict the future. The beauty is staying in the moment, seeing the moment and enjoying the pressure. There are two changes for us (Harpreet) Brar and Lockie (Ferguson),” he added.Meanwhile, Jitesh gave a big update on Patidar’s fitness status.
“We would have liked to bowl first, but the wicket is good and he should play well for 40 runs. Rajat is doing a great job and we should see him in Hyderabad. Every match is important, and this win can change a lot for us and for other teams. Suyash replaces Rajat and Romario replaces Davi,” Jitesh said.
Why doesn’t Rajat Patidar play against PBKS?
According to sources, Patidar did not travel with the team to Dharamsala and also missed the two training sessions ahead of the RCB-PBKS encounter.Gitesh confirmed during the draw that the RCB skipper is recovering well and can return for the team’s next match.“Rajat is in great form and is a must see in Hyderabad,” Jitesh said.RCB will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final match of the league stage on May 22.Patidar has enjoyed an outstanding IPL 2026 season so far, scoring 326 runs in 10 innings at an impressive strike rate of 195, including three half-centuries.The focus will now turn to Geach, who has struggled with the bat this season. The wicket-keeper-batsman has managed just 90 runs so far in the tournament.RCB currently stands at the top of the IPL 2026 points table with 16 points from 12 matches. They have won eight games and lost four, while maintaining a healthy net run rate of +1.053.They have played 12 games, winning 8 and losing 4 and have 16 points with a strong net run rate of +1.053. Playing with the eleventh squad:Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Jacob Bethel, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma (w/c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma.Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhisimran Singh (W), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (C), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.Here are the effective substitutes for both teams:Royal Challengers Bengaluru Influential Subs: Rasikh Salam Dar, Jordan Cox, Abhinandan Singh, Swapnil Singh, Kanishk Chouhan.Punjab Impact Subs: Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Mushir Khan, Praveen Dubey