Rajat Patidar’s continued absence from India’s T20I setup has once again sparked debate, especially after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper led his franchise to a second consecutive IPL title and produced another outstanding season with the bat.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced squads for the upcoming T20I tours of Ireland and England, as well as the Asian Games. While the selection panel introduced several fresh faces and made significant changes, Patidar’s name was notably missing from all three squads.
The omission has raised eyebrows given the 33-year-old’s performances over the last two IPL seasons. Patidar played a central role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s title-winning campaigns in 2025 and 2026, combining leadership with consistent run-scoring in the middle order.
The selection meeting saw several headline-making decisions. Teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi earned his maiden national call-up, while Shreyas Iyer replaced Suryakumar Yadav as India’s T20I captain. Yet despite the reshuffle, Patidar failed to secure a spot.
Addressing the decision, chief selector Ajit Agarkar acknowledged that the competition for places remains intense and that several deserving players inevitably miss out.
“We discussed a host of players. We think these 15 are deserving. There are a lot of good players in India. There are plenty who are good enough to walk into the team, but the guys playing are doing as well as they can. We think we’ve picked a good squad. There will always be players missing out, but we’ve picked a good squad, and we are happy with this one,” Agarkar said during the press conference.
Patidar’s IPL 2026 numbers make a compelling case for selection. The RCB captain amassed 501 runs during the tournament at a remarkable strike rate of 192.69. His innings included 30 boundaries and 42 sixes, highlighting his ability to dominate bowling attacks during the middle and death overs.
One of the standout aspects of Patidar’s season was his acceleration through different phases of an innings. Between overs 12 and 16, he scored 234 runs from just 108 deliveries at a strike rate of 216.67. During the final four overs, he elevated his scoring rate further, striking at an extraordinary 278.57.
Despite those numbers, the selectors opted to continue with established middle-order options such as Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube. The decision suggests that the management remains committed to its existing T20 blueprint, even if it means leaving out one of the IPL’s most productive performers.
Patidar’s omission underlines the depth of India’s T20 talent pool, where even players with exceptional domestic and franchise credentials can struggle to break into the national side. For now, the RCB captain will have to continue piling up runs and wait for another opportunity to force his way into India’s plans.
India’s T20I squad for the Ireland and England tours includes Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Harshit Rana and Ravi Bishnoi.