Rajat Patidar has been named Madhya Pradesh’s all-format captain ahead of the 2025-26 domestic season, which begins with the Ranji Trophy on October 15. He replaces Shubham Sharma, with the decision coming from MP director of cricket Chandrakant Pandit. The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association sought to give Patidar a larger leadership role following his recent successes.
Patidar, 32, was first tried as captain during last season’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after discussing a similar opportunity with Pandit during the IPL with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He led MP to the tournament final, where they lost to Mumbai. Patidar later captained RCB to their maiden IPL title and guided Central Zone to a Duleep Trophy title for the first time since 2014-15.
Recently, Patidar led a strong Rest of India squad in the Irani Cup at Nagpur, featuring players like Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Abhimanyu Easwaran. They lost to Vidarbha by 93 runs. In the 2024-25 Ranji season, Patidar scored 529 runs in 11 innings at an average of 48.09, including one century and two fifties — the second-highest tally for MP after Shubham Sharma.
This season, Patidar has started strongly, scoring two centuries and three half-centuries in seven innings. One hundred came in the Duleep Trophy final, helping Central Zone secure a first-innings lead and a six-wicket victory over South Zone.
Madhya Pradesh will begin their Ranji Trophy campaign with a home game against Punjab in Indore. The season will have two phases — from October 15 to November 19, followed by a break for white-ball tournaments, and resuming from January 22 to February 1, with knockouts from February 6 to 28.
Leave a Reply