‘No’: Rajat Patidar Gives Blunt Reply on India T20I Selection Chances

Rajat Patidar said he is focused only on the IPL 2026 final and not thinking about India’s upcoming T20I tours.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar said his complete focus remains on winning the IPL 2026 title and not on a possible return to India’s T20I side. RCB will face Gujarat Titans in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Ahead of the summit clash, Patidar dismissed questions about selection for India’s upcoming T20I tours of Ireland and England in June and July. The RCB skipper gave a direct “no” when asked if he was thinking about national selection.

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He also acknowledged the strong form of Gujarat’s top order, with Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan scoring more than 700 runs each this season. However, the RCB captain said his side has already prepared plans to counter GT’s dangerous batting.

“No, I am not looking forward to the possibility of getting selected for those tours [in June and July]. Yes, their top-order is quite good. But we have some plans. We just need to execute them tomorrow,” Patidar said.

If RCB win on Sunday in Ahmedabad, Patidar will become only the third captain in IPL history to win back-to-back titles after MS Dhoni in 2010 and 2011 and Rohit Sharma in 2019 and 2020. However,he said he does not think about records or comparisons with past captains. Patidar added that his complete attention remains on the final.

“I don’t think about these things. Who has done what before me, I am not competing with anyone. I live in the moment. I am only focusing on tomorrow’s game” he said.

RCB also head into the title clash with a scheduling advantage after getting 4 full days of rest since Qualifier 1 on Tuesday. Gujarat Titans, meanwhile, played Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on Friday before travelling for the final.

“Of course, we have some advantage on that front since we have had time to rest and recover. GT are coming into this game kind of right after their Qualifier 2. So, there is some advantage but but it’s not that big. Both teams are pretty good and have played some good cricket,” Patidar concluded.