Rajat Patidar deserves to play for India: Chandrakant Pandit

RCB the Eliminator against LSG and made the world sit up and take notice of Rajat Patidar, but one man who has seen him from close quarters wasn't too surprised by the Madhya Pradesh batsman's stunning feat. Former India stumper Chandrakant Pandit, who has been coaching MP for the past couple of years, told TOI, "Last year, during a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game against Saurashtra, I sent Rajat a message: 'Dede bahar (hit the ball out of the ground).' In the next six balls, he blasted four sixes and two fours, with all shots hit straight to the sightscreen. He has loads of ability.

You just need to give him the license to hit. He has the skill to hit the ball over the fielder, and along the ground, but 90% of his shots are along the ground. "He's a tremendous talent.

Even if he makes 40 or 50 runs, he'll leave an impact." Pandit, arguably the most successful coach in domestic cricket, asserts that his ward deserves an India cap soon. "If he plays two-three knocks like this, it will be difficult for the selectors to ignore him. He's good enough and should play for India in all the formats.

His confidence level is different. "Whether he gets out for 0 or scores a ton, his confidence remains the same. He's in a different league.

The problem is that we don't judge the true worth of such players because he's not a showpony. Even if scores a double hundred, he'll sit in one corner quietly. However, he scores in every game and rarely fails," said Pandit.