Heel injury rules Rajat Patidar out of IPL 2023

Rajat Patidar has been ruled out of IPL 2023, after having failed to recover sufficiently from a heel injury. His team, Royal Challengers Bangalore, said as much while announcing the update that they "have decided not to name a replacement player for Rajat just yet".

Patidar, 29, had been undergoing rehab at the BCCI's National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru over the past few days, and it was understood that he would miss the first half of the IPL 2023 season; he had initially been advised rest till mid-April. Patidar had picked up the injury prior to joining the Royal Challengers pre-season camp.

IPL 2022 was Patidar's breakout season. He hadn't been picked up at the mega auction prior to the season, but joined Royal Challengers as a replacement midway through the season following an injury to Luvnith Sisodia. He announced himself in the Eliminator by hitting the fastest hundred by an Indian in the tournament's history, an innings rated by ESPNcricinfo's panellists as the best in men's franchise cricket in 2022.

He finished the season as the third-highest run-scorer for Royal Challengers, behind Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. He made 333 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 152.75. His IPL exploits, along with stellar returns in a title-winning Ranji Trophy campaign with Madhya Pradesh, earned Patidar a berth in India's ODI squad during their home summer last year, though he hasn't made his international debut yet.

Patidar's unavailability isn't the only concern for Royal Challengers, who started the 2023 season on a strong note with a commanding eight-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians.

There are also doubts over Josh Hazlewood's participation, with the Australian quick recovering from Achilles tendonitis. They are also without Will Jacks, who was ruled out of the tournament a couple of weeks before the start, and was replaced by Michael Bracewell. Reece Topley also picked up a shoulder injury during the first game and played no further part in it, though he has since travelled with the team to Kolkata, where Royal Challengers play their next game, against Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday.