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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on May 9 suspended the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 for one week due to escalation on the India-Pakistan border. The announcement came on the morning when Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) were scheduled to take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at home. Had the game gone ahead as scheduled, Jitesh Sharma would have made his IPL captaincy debut in the absence of Rajat Patidar who got injured during the clash against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on May 3.
Patidar was advised to avoid training for at least 10 days. He wore a splint to protect the finger. The reschedule may help Patidar be available for the game against LSG when IPL resumes. However, it is not confirmed that Patidar will be fit to play against the Rishabh Pant-led side. Currently in Bengaluru, Patidar's injury will be reassessed in the next few days.
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RCB were placed second on the IPL 2025 points table with eight wins from 11 games. Considering RCB need just one win to confirm their spot in the playoffs, the team management will be cautious about Patidar's injury.
Meanwhile, Patidar is also expected to be on the flight to England as part of India A's team. He has a chance to prove his mettle in the England conditions and earn a place in the squad for the five-Test series starting June 20.
Jitesh on opportunity to captain RCB
Earlier, Jitesh had expressed his happiness as he was set to lead RCB against LSG. The wicketkeeper-batter was already thinking about the team combination as Devdutt Padikkal has been ruled out due to injury and Patidar was injured.
"I was very grateful for the opportunity given to me. They were giving me an opportunity to captain RCB and it's a very big thing for me and my family. I was thinking of what the right combination would be because both Devdutt [Padikkal] and Rajat were not available, and it was a big responsibility to replace them," Jitesh said on RCB Bold Diaries.
"And as per the position we were on the points table, we would have won this game. All of this was going on in my head and all the meetings with coaches and players in those two-three days, batting order, discussions with bowlers. I had good fun."
Before the IPL 2025 was suspended, RCB had named Mayank Agarwal as injured Padikkal's replacement.
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