Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 16 (ANI): Indian batter Rajat Patidar, who ended Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team's 18-year-long wait for their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy, said that leading the Red and Gold franchise gave him 'tremendous learnings'.

The star batter now looks to draw on those learnings as he leads India A in the opening match of the three-match one-day series against Australia A, beginning September 30. Tilak Varma, India's T20I mainstay, will be leading in other two matches.

'It is a huge honour for me to captain the India 'A' side for the series against Australia 'A'. I feel this is a great opportunity for me and the team to show the level we are at and be in the reckoning for India call-up with resilient performance,' said Patidar as quoted by RCB's press release.

He further added, 'In a way, this year has been very special for me, personally, with my on-field abilities being recognised and equally rewarded. It began with the captaincy stint of the MP state team in first class cricket and RCB trusting me with the responsibility of captaining the iconic side. Winning the trophy was only the icing on the cake and along the way, there has been tremendous learnings which will benefit me in the long run.'

'As captain of a team, it is about how we come together as a unit and are willing to take a bullet for each other. That's the camaraderie and belief system we had in RCB this season where each one of us stepped up for each other and worked together towards success. It will be a similar approach that we would like to adapt as a team for the India 'A' outing. I am excited and look forward to the new challenge,' Patidar said.

The 32-year-old's credentials as both leader and performer shone this week as he guided Central Zone to the Duleep Trophy 2025 title with a six-wicket victory over South Zone in Bengaluru. Patidar capped the campaign with a stellar 101 off 115 balls in the final and finished as the tournament's top scorer with 382 runs in five innings, including two centuries and two half-centuries at an average of 76.40, with a strike rate of 96.95.

These last nine to ten months have been ones to remember for Patidar, having led Madhya Pradesh to the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 in December last year, where they lost to Mumbai. He was the second-highest run-getter in the tournament, with 428 runs in nine innings at an average of 61.14 and a strike rate of 186.08, with five half-centuries and a best score of 81*.

For RCB, he had a decent season with the bat, scoring 312 runs in 14 innings at an average of 24.00 and a strike rate of 143.77, with two fifties and a best score of 64. His efforts, tactics and bowling changes led RCB to their maiden IPL in June, beating Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in the final.

In List-A cricket, Rajat has made 2,211 runs at an average of 37.47 with a strike rate of well above 99, with four centuries and 13 fifties in 63 innings and a best score of 158. In 2023, he played one ODI for India against South Africa in December, scoring a quickfire 22.

India A squad for the 1st one-day match: Rajat Patidar (Captain), Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (WK), Priyansh Arya, Simarjeet Singh.

India A squad for 2nd and 3rd one-day: Tilak Varma (Captain), Rajat Patidar (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (WK), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh. (ANI)