Hyderabad: Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru Director of Cricket Mo Bobat confirmed skipper Rajat Patidar’s availability for Friday’s league‑stage clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad, after he missed the clash against Punjab Kings in Dharamshala due to being hit on the head while facing Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur.
“Rajat’s good to go. We were cautious and didn’t take any risks with him. We thought we’d give him a little bit longer to recover and rest, but he’s here, he’s practising, and he’s good to go,” Bobat said in the pre-match press conference on the eve of the fixture.
Bobat reserved special praise for senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who currently holds the purple cap via 24 wickets in 13 innings. “Bhuvi has been brilliant. His outcomes have been excellent; he’s taken a lot of wickets, but he’s also bowled with excellent rhythm. He’s been effective at the front end of the innings and also the back end, so we’re very pleased with how he’s going.”
“He talks well in meetings, he’s a good source of insight and ideas in the field under pressure. He can be a great support to Rajat and Jitesh as well, which is really important. We get huge value out of him because he gives us so much.”
With the playoffs approaching, Bobat underlined the importance of staying grounded. “It sounds like a bit of a cliché, but we just try and take one game at a time. Whether we’re home or away, it doesn’t really matter to us. We try and understand the conditions, respect the opposition, plan for them, and then focus on what we’re good at and try and do that as well as we can.”
“And then you repeat that for every group game, really, so I don’t know if there’s a code or a secret. It’s pleasing that we’ve been consistent. We’ve obviously won a number of games, and even the games that we haven’t won, we’ve been competitive, so that’s good. We feel in a good place about that, but we simply do that by concentrating on the next game.”
Looking ahead to the contest against a strong SRH, Bobat said, “All the teams in this competition are good sides, there are dangerous players in every team, and anyone can take the game away from you, so you have to be very humble and respectful of the opposition, but also clear on your own strengths. We’re not too bound by any history or records; we’re just concentrating on the game tomorrow night.”
