Rajat Patidar—yeah, that guy isn’t just another name on a scorecard. He’s your classic underdog story with, honestly, a bit of Bollywood flavour. Born June 1, 1993, in Indore—MP’s finest—he started whacking cricket balls around when he was eight. Not some towering skyscraper either; the dude’s an average 5’7”.
School-wise, he did his thing at Guru Vashishtha College out in Dewas, squeezing in cricket practice at New Digamer Public School (bet you they brag about that now).
Anyway, he hit the big leagues with Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy back in 2015-16, not exactly making waves at first. But give the man a couple of years, and boom: 2018-19 season, suddenly he’s piling on 713 runs like it’s no big deal.
Then there’s the IPL ride. In 2021, RCB grabbed him. At first, nothing wild—some would call it underwhelming, tbh. But then he burns the script: playoffs, 2022, not even capped for India yet, and he decides to blast a ridiculous 112* in an Eliminator game. First uncapped player to chuck up a century in the playoffs. Iconic. Mic drop moment.
By the time India comes calling for the national squad, Patidar steps up for his first ODI versus South Africa, December 2023. A little bit nervous? Probably, who wouldn’t sweat that? Then, the fast lane to February 2024 debuts in tests against England. Three Tests and an ODI under his belt by March 2025—not a Ferrari start but not stuck in first gear either.
And, yeah, he’s done alright financially—net worth’s somewhere in that ₹16-17 crore pocket, which buys a lot more than street snacks in Indore, let’s put it that way. But the dude’s still driving a Hyundai i20, not flaunting flashy stuff. He endorses Sareen Sports and a few others, but honestly, he keeps it pretty chill. Maybe not a household name everywhere just yet, but you get the feeling Patidar’s just warming up.
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