IPL century was turning point for me: Rajat Patidar opens up on 'dream' India call-up ahead of SA ODIs - Watch

Indian batter Rajat Patidar is on the heels of playing for the national side after having what has been a remarkable year for him. The Madhya Pradesh batter has had a breakout year with the bat with strong performances in IPL, Ranji Trophy and for India A.

Patidar, who went unsold at the IPL auction, went on to become one of the most important players for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2022 edition. Coming in as a replacement player, Patidar not only played at a good strike rate but also consistently had good scores against his name but the knock of the season came in the eliminator, in a do-or-die match. Patidar lit up Eden Gardens, playing one of the best innings in the IPL history by an uncapped batter scoring an unbeaten 112 against the Lucknow Super Giants. Patidar followed it up with 58 in the second qualifier against the Rajasthan Royals. The 29-year-old ended the season with 333 runs in just eight matches.

Patidar, who received his maiden call-up for India for the ODI series against South Africa, reckoned that it's a dream come true and it was the IPL century that was a turning point for him.

"Dream hai ek yeh, kyunki jo voh IPL ka match tha, voh turning point tha mere liye. Vahaan se sab cheezein badli. Toh kaafi mujhe aisa lagta hai ki yeh dream year hai mere liye. (It's a dream come true [India call-up]. That IPL match [Eliminator, where he scored 112*] was the turning point for me. Everything changed from there on. So I feel like it's a dream year for me,)" he said while speaking about the maiden call-up in a video shared by BCCI.

Patidar said that the IPL knock gave him a lot of confidence and mentioned that he has the game to be successful in all three formats.

"IPL knock gave me a lot of confidence. But in my opinion, white-ball cricket and red-ball cricket are different. I think I have the ability to play all three formats. So, I try to focus on my process for white-ball and red-ball cricket differently and stay in present. I try to play according to the team's demands rather than coming with my own set plans," he added.

That IPL knock came amid a dream Ranji Trophy season for Patidar. Patidar amassed 658 runs including a match-winning ton in the final for Madhya Pradesh. He followed it up with a couple of centuries in the three Tests for India A, including a magnificent 176.

Following his call-up, veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik, who was part of that unbeaten 92-run stand with Patidar in that IPL match had congratulated the MP batter. Patidar said that it was great as he is one of his idols alongside Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

"I saw he tweeted about me, congratulating me. It felt really great and helped my confidence as I have played alongside DK and shared dressing room with him. In one sense, he is an idol for me as he has been playing for India for such a long time and it was a great moment that he wrote about me," he added.