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Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) legendary batter AB de Villiers wants his former teammate and new captain Rajat Patidar to not doubt himself. The former South Africa captain understands Patidar has got big shoes fill after Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis but wants him to use Kohli and head coach Andy Flower's experience rather than get overwhelmed by it.
"His biggest challenge will be insecurity, stepping into the big boots of the past captains like Faf and Virat.. having Virat around and constantly almost doubting yourself," De Villiers said on JioStar Press Room on March 18
"He needs to stay true to who he is and not try to captain like Virat or like Faf. And use the experience of Virat, use the experience of Andy Flower and some of the other players."
Patidar will make his IPL captaincy debut in the season opener against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Meanwhile, the 41-year-old had a message for Kohli as well. He does not want Kohli to think too much about his strike rate as he has got attacking batter Phil Salt opening alongside him.
"Virat seems to be enjoying his cricket. I don't think he's going to have to up his strike rate batting with Phil Salt," he said.
"Salt is one of the most attacking players we've ever seen. I think he's going to take a lot of pressure off Virat. Virat needs to continue what he's been doing for so many years...control the game, play smart cricket. He's got the best instinct of any player out there. He knows when to up the ante a bit and when to lower it."
Kohli, Salt's strike rate and performance in previous edition
Kohli is the leading run-scorer in IPL. However, there are often questions about his strike rate considering the format has seen a drastic evolution in last few years with scores getting bigger on batting-friendly pitches. In IPL 2024, he had a strike rate of 154.69 which is his best in a single edition. He scored 741 runs from 15 innings, averaging 61.75, including one century and five fifties.
But, Salt can be the perfect partner for him at the top of the order he has a stupendous strike rate. In the last season, he scored 435 runs from 12 innings averaging 39.54 and at a strike rate of 182. Salt will be against his former franchise on RCB debut on March 22.
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