He Continued To Throw Punches: Mo Bobat Praises Patidar Ahead RCB vs GT

Rajat Patidar is two-in-two as far as wins under his captaincy of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are concerned, and it has impressed the team’s Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, mightily.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of RCB’s first home game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 2 (Wednesday), Bobat on April 1 (Tuesday) said, “The main thing you want to see from any leader or captain is that they continue to let their personality come across, and I think he's done that really well.”

“We don't want him to become a captain and be somebody else. We want him to be himself, very calm inwardly and outwardly,” added Bobat ahead of the RCB vs GT clash. 

Lauding Patidar for his counter-attacking knock against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), where he smashed 51 off 32 balls, utilising all his chances that he got, Bobat said, “He rarely, if ever, takes a backward step, and we've seen that with his batting, particularly against CSK.”

“Every time we lost wickets, he continued to throw punches, and he seems to have coped with all the other stuff that comes with captaincy as well, because it's a busy time,” explained the RCB team director, who has loads of experience managing players, having been part of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as well. 

Saying that Patidar, at 32, has been ‘everything I hoped and expected him to be’, Bobat said that the real test of captaincy will be in the tough middle phase. 

“When we get through the busy part of the schedule and the fixtures come thick and fast and, no doubt, we'll have some challenges at some point in the season. That will be a time when we've really got to be there to support him,” Bobat said.