Former India cricketer Saba Karim has lavished massive praise on RCB captain Rajat Patidar after the franchise successfully defended their title in the IPL 2026 final against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, May 31, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. With this win, Patidar's RCB became only the fourth IPL franchise with multiple trophies after Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Karim believes that all the players of the Bengaluru-based team had clarity of thought regarding their roles under Patidar's leadership. Being a fairly inexperienced captain for the side, Patidar went on to stamp his authority on the biggest stage for a franchise where the star cricketer Virat Kohli plays the orchestrator of the dressing room.

“One of the biggest reasons behind RCB winning a second consecutive title has been the clarity around individual roles within the team, and Rajat Patidar deserves a lot of credit for that. If you look at his journey, he came in as a replacement player and eventually became the captain. For someone without international experience, earning respect in a dressing room filled with world-class players, including Virat Kohli, is not easy," Karim said via JioStar.

According to the former India wicketkeeper-batter, Patidar leads in a way that is similar to legendary IPL captains like MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, both having five titles for their respective IPL teams. Notably, the Madhya Pradesh cricketer has also become the only captain after Dhoni and Rohit to defend an IPL title successfully, which has forced the cricketing fraternity to take note of his exemplary leadership acumen.

"Rajat earned that respect through consistent performances. Once he established himself, he became instrumental in shaping this side.

He has played a major role in building a strong bowling unit. I also see a lot of clarity in his captaincy. When we talk about captains who have led teams to consecutive titles, names like MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma come up, and I can see similarities in the way Rajat Patidar leads this team,” Karim concluded.