Sachin Tendulkar hails Rajat Patidar's role in RCB's title win - 'He created an environment where...'

Sachin Tendulkar reserved high praise for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Rajat Patidar for his role in the Virat Kohli-starrer franchise winning the title for the second in a year after beating Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The RCB captain etched his name in history after becoming the first captain in the league's history to lead his team to a title win in each of his first two seasons while leading a side.

Tendulkar lavished praise on Patidar's leadership style and claimed that he was able to create an environment where each player took responsibility. The ex-Mumbai Indians (MI) captain commented that he found the right balance between leadership and contribution.

"Very successful team develops an identity over the course of a campaign. RCB's identity seemed to be built around shared responsibility. Rajat Patidar led from the front right through, but just as importantly, he helped create an environment where others could do the same. That balance between leadership and contribution was an important factor in their run to yet another final," wrote Tendulkar in a post.

Patidar had a stunning season with the bat as he scored 501 runs in 14 innings at an incredible strike rate of 192.69. The 33-year-old won the Player of the Match (POTM) award in the first qualifier against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Dharamshala for an incredible innings of 93 in just 33 balls.

Patidar has strengthened his claim for a call-up to the Indian T20I team. The middle-order player is yet to make his debut for India in the shortest format of the game. So far, he has only played 1 Test and three ODIs in his career for the Men in Blue.

Patidar is only the third captain after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to defend the IPL title and only the fourth alongside the above two and Gautam Gambhir to win the trophy multiple times.