Rajat Patidar to lead Madhya Pradesh across formats after RCB success

Published - 07 Oct 2025, 12:49 IST | Updated - 07 Oct 2025, 13:14 IST

Rajat Patidar has been named the all-format captain of Madhya Pradesh ahead of the 2025-26 domestic season, which begins with the Ranji Trophy on October 15. He replaced Shubham Sharma in the role, following a decision by MP director of cricket Chandrakant Pandit.

The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association was keen to expand Patidar’s responsibilities after his recent successes. The 32-year-old first captained the team during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last season, following discussions with Pandit about a similar leadership opportunity during the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

As per ESPNcricinfo, Patidar justified the faith placed in him by leading Madhya Pradesh to the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where they lost to Mumbai. He has since captained RCB to their maiden IPL title and guided Central Zone to a Duleep Trophy title, their first since the 2014-15 season.

Earlier in October, Patidar led a strong Rest of India squad at the Irani Cup, which included prominent state captains like Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Abhimanyu Easwaran. The star-studded line-up, however, lost to the Akshay Wadkar-led Vidarbha, the reigning champions of the Ranji Trophy as well.

In the 2024-25 season, Patidar scored 529 runs in 11 innings of Ranji at an average of 48.09, with one century and two half-centuries, which made him the second-highest run-getter for his side. The Indore-born has already started the new season in fine form, registering two centuries and three half-centuries in seven innings. One of his hundreds came in the Duleep Trophy final, helping Central Zone secure a massive first-innings lead and a six-wicket win over South Zone.

Madhya Pradesh will begin their Ranji Trophy campaign with a home game against Punjab in Indore. The season will be played in two phases, the first from October 15 to November 19, followed by a break for white-ball tournaments, and the second from January 22 to February 1 next year. The knockouts are scheduled from February 6 to 28.