Why is RCB captain Rajat Patidar not playing against PBKS in Dharamshala?

IPL 2026: Rajat Patidar did not take the field for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Punjab Kings in Dharamshala, with Jitesh Sharma stepping in for the toss and Suash Sharma replacing himas an impact substitute.

In Short

• Jitesh Sharma took over the captain duty against PBKS
• Patidar was rested as a precautuionary measure relating to concussion
• PBKS host RCB at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala in a must-win game

Captain Rajat Patidar missed Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s must-win clash against Punjab Kings in Dharamshala as a precautionary measure related to a possible concussion issue. The development was confirmed by the commentators during the match, with vice-captain Jitesh Sharma stepping in for the toss.

“Rajat is doing fantastic now and hopefully we'll see him in Hyderabad,” Jitesh Sharma said after winning the toss against PBKS. “Suyash Sharma and Romario Shepherd come in for Rajat Patidar and Jacob Duffy.”

Patidar received a nasty blow at the back of his head during RCB’s last game against Kolkata Knight Riders in Raipur on May 13.

PLAYING XIS

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma

Impact subs: Rasikh Salam Dar, Jordan Cox, Abhinandan Singh, Swapnil Singh, Kanishk Chouhan

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Impact Subs: Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan, Praveen Dubey
Teams

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