Rajat Patidar undergoes recovery from finger injury amidst IPL 2025 suspension

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar is undergoing a recovery from his finger injury, which he sustained in the IPL 2025 before the tournament was suspended. Notably, the tournament was declared suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) due to the escalating cross-border rifts between India and Pakistan.

Returning to Patidar’s injury, he went on to hurt his finger in the home fixture against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday, May 3. He was asked to stay away from the training for almost 10 days before the proper assessment of the injury. He would have been ruled out of the tournament due to this injury if it had not been cancelled.

Meanwhile, RCB management is also going cautiously with the treatment of Patidar’s injury. They will also monitor the chances of him being available for the team to play again as the tournament resumes after the end of the suspension.

Jitesh Sharma in line to lead RCB as stand-in skipper

In the same line of events, the management had planned to appoint the wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma as the stand-in skipper to lead the side against LSG on Friday, May 9. It was the same day when the BCCI announced the suspension of the tournament.

 “I was very grateful for the opportunity given to me. They were giving me the opportunity to captain RCB, and it's a very big thing for me and my family. I was thinking of what the right combination would be because both Devdutt [Padikkal] and Rajat were not available, and it was a big responsibility to replace them,” said Jitesh Sharma on RCB Bold Diaries.

“And as per the position we were on the points table, we would have won this game. All of this was going on in my head, and all the meetings with coaches and players in those two to three days, batting order, and discussions with bowlers. I had good fun,” he added later.

Speaking of RCB’s position in the tournament before suspension, they enjoyed a brilliant run, with eight wins and three defeats in their 11 games. They were placed in the second spot with 16 points to their name.