Rajat Patidar (X.com)
Indian cricket is blessed with some high-class, talented players who have been waiting for long to get their opportunity, and Madhya Pradesh's Rajat Patidar is one of them as he is in the squad for the England Test series as he is in line to make his debut in the second Test, considering there is a vacant spot in the side.
Patidar, who got sidelined from the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year, made his comeback sometime back in domestic cricket. Recently, he made his ODI debut against South Africa and is now all set to announce himself in the white jersey.
In a video posted by BCCI's social media handles this morning, Patidar spoke about his return from injury, how he recovered, his time with coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma alongside the impact of Virat Kohli on his long-term game.
Firstly, talking about the period between his injury and recovery, Patidar expressed that it was tough, but he accepted the fact and continued to work his way as he soon got the result in the form of a Test call-up for this series.
"It is always hard when a player gets injured, I always told myself I cannot change the time it will take to recover. I accepted this fact and worked in the present with a lot of focus. Getting my first Test call up soon after my recovery has to be my happiest moment. It was my dream to represent my country in Test cricket. It felt very good to get that call, I was playing India A matches and felt very good on getting that call,"
He then went on to explain his relationship with coach Dravid and skipper Rohit, adding that he had little chance to discuss with the latter previously, however, he has discussed various things with him this time around.
"Have played with many Indian team players in the domestic circuit. Have been interacting with Rahul Sir since last two series, I had not spoken a lot with Rohit bhai but I got to speak with him on this tour about batting, he shared his experience in the nets. All this has increased my confidence,"
Further, he expressed that he has been aggressive with the bat and is learning quite a lot from Rohit on how he plays the opposition and tackles the field, which he is really interested in learning.
"I have an aggressive batting style and have batted like this since my domestic cricket, It's about how you prepare. It has become a habit now. I study the pattern of opponent bowlers, how they place their field. I observe how Rohit bhai tackles the field position. I try to add-on these learnings into my own game. I analyse and add-on this to my game. That's my only focus,"
Moreover, the right-hander stated that the star Indian batter and his RCB teammate Virat Kohli have significantly impacted him, and he wants to replicate those things in his game.
"I always observe his (Virat Kohli) batting from the back of the nets especially his footwork and body movement while batting. I enjoy watching him bat. I want to add-on those skills. It's not easy but I am relentlessly after it. If I have to express my emotion in one word, it would be excited."
Patidar will hope that he gets a chance in India's depleted side that will take on England in the second Test set to be played in Visakhapatnam from 2nd February.
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