Rajat Patidar has recovered from a minor left-knee issue and has been cleared to return to competitive cricket by the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence. He is set to rejoin the Madhya Pradesh squad in Kolkata on Friday and will be available for selection from the third round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches starting Sunday, November 30.
The MP captain has been out of action for approximately four weeks. He last featured in a competitive game during the first unofficial Test for India A against South Africa A on October 30. Following that appearance, he missed the last two weeks of the Ranji Trophy due to continuous discomfort in his knee, which had originally surfaced during MP’s opening match of the season against Punjab on October 15.
Patidar underwent a 10-day rehabilitation programme under the supervision of the CoE medical team, after which he was issued the return-to-play (RTP) certificate. He has now resumed full batting practice.
Before sustaining the injury, Patidar was in excellent touch. He kicked off the Ranji Trophy season with a double century against Punjab and delivered consistently strong performances in the Duleep Trophy, scoring two centuries and two half-centuries while leading Central Zone to the title. The upcoming SMAT 2025–26 fixtures will mark his first white-ball appearance since leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their maiden IPL title earlier this year.
Since then, he has been appointed captain across all formats for Madhya Pradesh, taking over from Shubham Sharma. MP finished runners-up in the previous SMAT edition, with Patidar playing a crucial role as the second-highest run-scorer, amassing 428 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 186.08, including a tournament-high 27 sixes.
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