Nowhere has the popular saying 'One man's loss is another's gain' than at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who confirmed on Thursday (February 13) that Rajat Patidar has been named as their new captain ahead of the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Patidar's rise as RCB captain completes a remarkable story that started with the Madhya Pradesh batter being signed up by the Virat Kohli-starrer franchise for his base of Rs. 20 Lakhs in the 2021 auction when he was an uncapped player. However, if it was not an injury to Luvnith Sisodia, the story could have been very different for the franchise as well as Patidar.

Patidar debuted for RCB in IPL 2021, where he played four matches in the first phase of the tournament in which he scored 71 runs in four matches. However, Patidar did not play any match in the second phase, which took place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as AB de Villiers' decision to stop doing wicketkeeping led to KS Bharat taking up the gloves and batting at number three, which came at the cost of Patidar in the playing XI.

Ahead of the 2022 mega auction, Patidar was not retained by RCB nor purchased at the auction. In fact, he did not find any bidders and went unsold. However, Patidar got a call-up from RCB mid-season as an injury replacement for Sisodia.

There was no looking back for Patidar since then as he made 333 runs in eight innings in the 2022 campaign, which included a memorable century against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the eliminator. The right-handed batter missed his 2023 season due to an Achilles heel injury, but he made his debut for India in ODI cricket against South Africa later that year. In February 2024, he received his maiden Test and played three matches against England.

In the 2024 IPL season, Patidar established himself with a remarkable season in which he made 395 runs in 15 innings at an average of 30.38 and a strike rate of 177.13.

Patidar was retained by RCB for Rs. 11 crore ahead of the 2025 mega auction alongside Virat Kohli (Rs. 21 crore) and Yash Dayal (Rs. 5 crore).

After the unfortunate blow of missing the chance to play for RCB, which is the team from his home state, Sisodia is set for a second chance in the IPL after being purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for Rs. 30 Lakhs ahead of the 2025 IPL.

As Patidar prepares to take charge of arguably IPL's most popular franchise, one is bound to wonder what if Sisodia never got injured in 2022.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, Sports and around the world.