“Rajat Had Fractured His Knuckle” – RCB Director Explains How Setback Turned Into IPL 2025 Glory

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, shared how the short break during the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) helped the team in their journey to a maiden title. The team was moving strongly towards the end of the tournament when unexpected events stopped the campaign for a while.

Although RCB were in a good position for the playoffs, they had not yet secured a place in the top two. The team also faced many injury problems. Skipper Rajat Patidar and key bowler Josh Hazlewood both struggled with serious issues. Devdutt Padikkal was ruled out completely due to a hamstring tear, and Mayank Agarwal was named as his replacement.

Break Helped RCB Recover Physically

From a workload point of view, the break came at the right time for RCB. Rajat Patidar healed enough to play as an impact player in the first few matches after the break. In his absence, Jitesh Sharma led the side. Josh Hazlewood recovered in Australia and later rejoined the team for the knockout stage.

Mo Bobat explained the situation: “We had some injuries and niggles. Rajat had fractured his knuckle. Josh Hazlewood’s shoulder problem came up. Dev [Padikkal] had a hamstring issue. The schedule was very tough and the players were tired. So, there were pros and cons. I just wanted the players to recover and be ready. That’s why I was glad the break was not too long.”

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He added: “Mentally, the break came at a bad time because we were in good form and playing well. You don’t want to lose that momentum. But physically, it was a good time. We had played seven games in 21 or 22 days, with a lot of travel. It was probably the toughest schedule any team had.”

RCB struggled a bit after the break. Their home match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was washed out. Their next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) was shifted to Lucknow due to bad weather in Bengaluru, where they lost by 42 runs.

Overseas Players Given Full Choice

When the tournament was suspended midway because of the war situation, many overseas players left the country. Some even said they would not return.

Mo Bobat remembered the talks with the squad: “The moment we heard about the postponement, Andy and I met the overseas players. We wanted to treat them like adults. If they didn’t feel safe and wanted to go home, we respected that. At no point did we try to force them to stay. We gave them full choice.”

When the tournament restarted, RCB had almost a full squad. Only Jacob Bethell and Lungi Ngidi were missing, as they were called for international duty by England and South Africa.