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3 days ago
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) were forced to bench regular captain Rajat Patidar in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter against Punjab Kings at Dharamsala on Sunday. Instead of Patidar, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma walked out for the coin toss on a sunny afternoon alongside Punjab Kings counterpart Shreyas Iyer.
With 16 points from 12 games, RCB are sitting atop the IPL 2026 points table and Patidar absence against Punjab Kings is a huge blow to the defending champions. A win on Sunday will seal RCB's spot in the playoffs. On the other hand, fourth-placed Punjab Kings are on a five-match winless streak and need a win to secure their spot in the last four.
Asked about Patidar's absence, Jitesh informed that he will be available against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last league-stage game. “Rajat is doing fantastic and we should see him in Hyderabad,” Jitesh said at the coin toss. “This win can change the entire table - not just for us, but for several other teams as well. Suyash replaces Rajat and Romario replaces Duffy,” he added.
Why is Rajat Patidar not playing vs PBKS?
According to a TOI report, Patidar didn't travel to Dharamsala with the RCB squad and had also missed both the practice sessions ahead of the clash.
PBKS vs RCB playing XIs
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma
Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
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