Tuesday saw Royal Challengers Bangalore suffer due to Rajat Patidar’s ongoing absence for the whole season (April 4). The batter, who was 29 years old, was seeking care at the NCA for an Achilles’ heel condition.

RCB had originally anticipated using the Madhya Pradesh hitter at some time this season, but they have now suffered a terrible setback. Last season, Patidar, who was brought in as a replacement player, had a significant impact, scoring 333 runs at a strike rate of over 150. Last year, he won the Eliminator with a score of 100 and was also in excellent form during the domestic season. In their opening game of the season, RCB had wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik leave at No. 3 due to Patidar’s unavailability. Still, he is set to remain as a finisher moving forward.

Live Cricket Score reports that they have a few Indian possibilities in the team to cover the void, including Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai, and Mahipal Lomror. In the meantime, the team has decided not to make any announcement on who’s replacing him. On April 6, they will play KKR in their next match.