Irfan Pathan Makes Strong Case for Rajat Patidar's India Call-Up

ByAnupam Pandey,SportsCafe Editor

Today at 4:35 PM

The Indian team made a massive change in the second T20I. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made it to the team, adding another left-handed batsman to the line-up. Amidst this, Irfan Pathan has called for Rajat Patidar, to balance the left right combination in the Indian team.

‌The Indian team is currently being dominated by the left-handed batsmen to a great extent. Yesterday, Sanju Samson was replaced by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, adding another lefty to the playing XI. This meant another left-handed batsman, putting India's top and middle order entirely based on them.

Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, and Tilak Varma were the left-handed batsmen of the Indian team in the last game. This has slightly disturbed the left right combination, which the Indian team believed in for a long time. If we take a look at India's batting line-up in the last game, Shreyas Iyer was the only top order batsman who was right handed.

Looking at the number of left-hand batters in the Indian T20 team right now, it’s even more of a reason for Team India to look at Rajat Patidar going forward.

I really hope he gets an opportunity, especially since there is still plenty of time for Team India to experiment before…
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) July 4, 2026

Amidst all this, Irfan Pathan has called out to have Rajat Patidar make his way to the T20I team. He has been an aggressive right handed batsman, who has managed to dominate spin very well. Moreover, his captaincy has received a lot of praise, as he led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to win two consecutive IPL titles.

Our Take

Irfan Pathan has really made a strong case to have Rajat Patidar in the Indian team. Patidar has been dominant in the T20 format, as we all saw him do wonders for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Moreover, this will also help to solve the left right combination problem for the Indian team. In a line-up which is being dominated by the left-handed batsmen, Patidar would be a great balance to the team.