Rajat Patidar likely to miss first half of IPL 2023 due to heel injury

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Rajat Patidar is likely to miss the first half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 due to a heel injury. The batter is currently undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. He has been advised to take rest for three weeks following which an MRI scan will determine his participation in the second half of the league. Having sustained the injury before joining the preparatory camp, he will need a clearance from NCA before he links up with RCB. His absence could cause RCB to rethink on their batting combination. With Patidar in the mix, RCB Director of Cricket Mike Hesson had said after the IPL auction last year in December that Virat Kohli would continue opening with skipper Faf Du Plessis. The injury now means that Kohli could bat at number three, with either young New Zealand talent Finn Allen or uncapped Indian wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat likely to serve Du Plessis as his opening partner. Patidar went unsold in the mega auction for IPL 2022, but came into the side as a replacement for wicketkeeper Luvnith Sisodia, who sustained an injury. He smashed the fastest century by an Indian in tournament history, scoring 112* off 54 balls against Lucknow Super Giants in the eliminator, which his side won. His century came in just 49 balls. He scored 333 runs in seven innings with a century and two fifties at an average of 55.50 and a strike rate of 152.75. His exploits in the league coupled with his stellar form in the title-winning Ranji Trophy campaign in 2021-22, where he scored 658 runs in six matches with two tons and five fifties, earned him a spot in India’s ODI squad in the summer last year. Patidar’s availability is not the only thing concerning RCB. There are doubts over pacer Josh Hazlewood’s status for the tournament as he is currently recovering from Achilles tendonitis.