Patidar cricketer: Why are RCB playing with only three overseas players vs KKR?

RCB playing with only three overseas players: Royal Challengers Bangalore have made a lone change to their Playing XI for this match.

During the 10th match of the ongoing 14th season of the Indian Premier League between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has won the toss and chose to bat.

“The surface looks better than the one we played on last time. We need enough runs on the board. For us, it’s just one game at a time and not want to be too bogged down about losses, which we have done in the past,” Kohli told Star Sports at the toss.

Playing their last IPL 2021 match in Chennai, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan revealed that he too wanted to bat first. Despite losing their last match against Mumbai Indians, Knight Riders have refrained themselves from making any changes to their Playing XI.

“We would have probably looked to do the same thing. We’ve kept the same team – we have plenty of options with bat and bowl. We want to end the Chennai leg of things on a high,” Morgan told Star Sports at the toss.

Same team. New game-plans. 👊#RCBvKKR #KKRHaiTaiyaar #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/djkZHEAYbB

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 18, 2021

Why are RCB playing with only three overseas players vs KKR?

As far as the changes for Royal Challengers are concerned, Kohli mentioned that they have brought back batsman Rajat Patidar for all-rounder Daniel Christian. “We’re playing just three overseas players – [Daniel] Christian misses out and Rajat Patidar is back. He’s a top player of spin,” Kohli said.

The development means that RCB will take the field with only three overseas players namely Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers and Kyle Jamieson. While a team can play a maximum of four overseas players in the XI, there is no cap on the minimum number of overseas players in the IPL.

With the surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium more inclined towards spinners and the same affecting batsmen constantly, Bangalore have picked a specialist batsman instead of a fast bowling all-rounder who might have struggled while batting in spin-friendly conditions. In Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed and Maxwell, RCB have four spin-bowling options in their Playing XI.

Patidar, 27, had made his IPL debut for RCB in IPL 2021 season opener against Mumbai. Batting at No. 3, Patidar had departed after scoring 8 (8) but has since been receiving acclamation from Kohli.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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