India’s rising star Rajat Patidar has revealed that Virat Kohli always told him to back his game when he played with the talisman for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.

Patidar had hogged the limelight after he had played a brilliant knock of 112 runs off just 54 balls in the Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022. The 29-year-old had scored 333 runs in the previous season after he was named as a replacement.

Subsequently, he was able to continue his good show in the domestic circuit while playing for Madhya Pradesh. The right-hander from Indore scored a fine knock of 112 runs in the Ranji Trophy final against Mumbai and led his state to its first title. He then scored two centuries against New Zealand A in three-match unofficial Test series.

Meanwhile, Patidar admitted that he has learned a lot while playing with Virat Kohli and revealed that the former Indian captain has been really helpful.

Rajat Patidar said in an interview with Cricket Addictor, “He always asks me to back my game and also shares his point of view on my batting. He tries to give me some pointers, which I try to add to my batting to improve my overall game.”

Patidar added that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are his idols and sharing the dressing room with the latter has been really special for him.

He said, “Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are my idols. Playing with Virat Kohli and creating partnerships with him has been really special. Even off the field, if I go to him to talk about my batting, he is always helpful. Getting a chance to share the dressing room with your idols, which not everybody gets in their life, is really special. There are a lot of learnings that I have gotten from him, both on and off the field.”

Rajat Patidar is in line to make his ODI debut against South Africa on Thursday, in the first match of the series.