IND vs NZ 2022-23: Who is Rajat Patidar to replace Shreays Iyer in ODIs?

Team India is set to lock horns with New Zealand in the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series starting Wednesday. However, the Men in Blue have received a setback a day before the series gets underway, as middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out with a back injury. According to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), he will be heading to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for "further assessment and management". In the meantime, the BCCI has announced that Rajat Patidar will replace him in the squad while we present more about him.

Patidar was born in Indore and plays for Madhya Pradesh at the domestic level. He belongs to a businessman family and started playing the sport when he was eight. He later joined a cricket academy that his grandfather ran. Although he began his cricketing career as an off-break spinner, after the Under-15s (U-15s), he focused on his batting and became a full-time batter.

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Patidar made his domestic debut in the First-Class (FC) circuit in November 2015, followed by his List-A debut a month later, while he had to wait three years for his Twenty20 (T20) debut. His career began to rise in the 2018-19 season when he finished as MP's top run-scorer, scoring 713 runs in eight contests.

Patidar's consistency was rewarded with his selection for India Blue during the Duleep Trophy tournament the following season. In 2021, he earned his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) contract after he was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) during the player auction. His IPL highlight came last season when he struck a match-winning unbeaten knock of 112 against the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

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As for Patidar's career numbers, he has 3,668 in 50 FC matches at an average of 46.43, including 11 tons and 20 half-centuries, with a top score of 196. In List-A, he has amassed 1,638 in 50 innings at 34.33, with three hundred and eight 50s, while his best knock is 158.

In T20s, Patidar has accumulated 1,466 in 44 innings at 37.58 and a strike rate of 147.93, including a century and 12 fifties, with a top score of an unbeaten 112 in the IPL. Considering his IPL numbers, he currently has 404 from 11 at 40.4 and 144.29, including the only ton and a couple of half-centuries.