"He Should Be A Regular In India": RCB Star Venkatesh Iyer Baffled By Teammate's Snub
Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Venkatesh Iyer praised skipper Rajat Patidar after the team clinched their second consecutive IPL title on Sunday in Ahmedabad.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Venaktesh Iyer praised skipper Rajat Patidar after the team clinched their second consecutive IPL title on Sunday in Ahmedabad. It was a dominant season for RCB, who had ended their 18-year trophy drought by winning their maiden title last year. In 2026, they faced Shubman Gill-led Gujarat Titans in the summit clash and restricted them to 155/8 in 20 overs. Chasing the target, star batter Virat Kohli rediscovered his vintage form, scoring an unbeaten 75 to guide RCB to a comfortable five-wicket victory with two overs to spare.
Speaking to NDTV's Consulting Editor Boria Majumdar after the title win, Venkatesh Iyer hailed Patidar as a great leader. Notably, both players are also teammates in the Madhya Pradesh domestic side.
Iyer stated that the MP team always had a belief in Patidar's talent and knew that he would be making it big one day.
"Phenomenal. I think he's done what nobody believed he could do. I didn't believe he could do a few years back, pleasantly surprised by the way he carried himself on the field. It's just a matter of when, rather than if or could he. It had to happen. And this is not me talking about 2021-22 or something. This is something that not just me, the entire MP team thought in 2016-17 when I began my Ranji Trophy days," said Iyer.
"This fellow does not belong here. He belongs in the top tier. He's meant for bigger things. When he virtually hadn't even scored a lot in Ranji Trophy-this is, I'm talking about like 10 years back-at that time, we were all thinking, 'What's he doing here? He should be a regular in India.' Quality, this, that. So it had to happen. Late, but good things eventually happen to good people," he added.
Bengaluru's win took Patidar in elite company as only the third captain to win back-to-back IPL titles.
MS Dhoni achieved the feat with Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and 2011, while Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians to glory in 2019 and 2020.
"Last year was a lot of pressure, this year was more calm because the way we played throughout the tournament, we dominated this year. So we were pretty much confident that if we are playing like this we are definitely going to win the second title for RCB," said Patidar.
(With AFP Inputs)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Gujarat Titans