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Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath has joined the selection debate around Rajat Patidar. While many were disappointed that Rajat Patidar was left out of India’s T20I squad for the Ireland and England tour, Badrinath believes the selectors made the right call.
Patidar had a fantastic IPL 2026 season. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain led his team to a second straight IPL title and scored more than 500 runs in the tournament at a stunning strike rate close to 193. He was one of the most dangerous middle-order batters of the season.
Replacing Dube with Patidar is like replacing a goalkeeper with a forward: Subramaniam Badrinath
Some even argued that Rajat Patidar should have replaced Shivam Dube in the squad. But Badrinath feels that comparison does not make sense. He explained that Dube and Patidar play completely different roles in a T20 team. While Dube is a finisher who can also bowl, Rajat Patidar is a specialist middle-order batter.
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Subramaniam Badrinath said on his YouTube channel: “Patidar comes in a different category than Shivam Dube. If Patidar warrants selection, he should be ahead of one of Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, or Shreyas Iyer. Definitely not, and hence his non-selection is justified. Replacing Dube with Patidar is like replacing a goalkeeper with a forward. Dube regularly bowls for the Indian team, so he comes into the finisher-all-rounder category.”
Rajat Patidar doesn’t fit into India’s T20I plans: Badrinath
He admitted that the RCB captain has done an amazing job, but there is no place for him in the Indian cricket team. The cricket pundit believes that Patidar is actually competing with players such as Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, and Ishan Kishan for a spot in India’s T20 setup.
Badrinath further added, “Patidar comes in the exact category of Shreyas. So, when Shreyas is the T20I captain, how can Patidar be in the squad? Tilak Varma has done brilliantly for India and has done well even in this IPL.”
“Patidar has done amazingly well for RCB in the IPL, but there is no place for him in the Indian team. Even Vaibhav Suryavanshi had to break the door to come. Rajat Patidar hasn’t done that well to warrant such treatment.”
Badrinath takes aim at selectors’ big Hardik Pandya decision
The former CSK batter has questioned the national selectors’ move to rest Hardik Pandya from the upcoming T20I assignments. The chief selector Ajit Agarkar said the decision was made to keep Hardik fresh and avoid any injury leading to the ICC World Cup 2027.
However, Badrinath feels there is still a long time before that tournament, and Hardik should continue proving himself, as he had a poor IPL 2026 season. He feels competition for places should remain open, especially when the young all-rounders are pushing for opportunities.
He signed off by saying, “Though they’ve said that he’s being rested with the 2027 World Cup in mind, what happens if Nitish Kumar Reddy does really well? Hardik has not played the full IPL and has had a poor run of captaincy and form. And now he’s not in the squads for the next three T20I assignments. Even if he’s tested or dealing with an injury, can’t his place be assessed after one series?”
