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Rajat Patidar received his ODI cap as India locked horns with South Africa in the third and final ODI of the multi-format series tour. After winning the first match of the series, India slumped in the second of the three-match series, forcing a decider. In the final encounter of the ODI series on December 21, the 30-year-old Patidar made his international debut as an unchanged South Africa invited the Indians to bat first at Boland Park. Apart from playing his first India game, Patidar also became the first player to receive the benefits of IPL's new incentive plan for uncapped players.
Follow: SA vs IND 3rd ODI Live Score
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is set to announce a new plan that will reward the uncapped Indian players who debut for India between IPL seasons. Normally, the player gets a fixed league fee once bought by any IPL franchise for a minimum period of three years or until he is released by the franchise. However, the fee can increase if the uncapped player is sold for a minimum of ₹50 lakh.
Speaking of Patidar, he was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for ₹20 lakh. However, as he is a capped player between two IPL seasons, his contract fee will increase to ₹50 lakh. Patidar made his IPL debut in 2021, and throughout his IPL career, he played a total of 12 games, where he amassed 404 runs averaging at 40.40.
The latest BCCI regulations say,
a) Prior to the start of any Season the League Fee payable to any player who is uncapped is less than Rs. 50 Lakhs; and
(b) Such player is then capped or achieves 5 or 10 Caps at any time during the period from the end of one Season up to the start of the next Season
Then,
(c) the League Fee payable to such Player for such next season and any subsequent season if such player's contract is extended by the relevant franchise shall be Rs. 50 Lakhs for so long as such player has 1 Cap, Rs. 75 Lakhs for so long as such player has 5-9 Caps and Rs. 1 crore if the player has 10 Caps or more; and
(d) if such player is subsequently traded then prior to such trade his League Fee shall be deemed to be determined under paragraph (c) above. It is clarified that for the purposes of calculating the Salary Cap, if the player is traded, then any increase in a player's League Fee will apply to the new franchise's Salary Cap. However, if the player remains with the existing team, then such increase will not affect the Franchisee's Salary Cap and the Salary Cap will remain the same as it was before the increase in Player's League Fee."
Patidar’s highest score stands at 112*, which is also his only century in the cash-rich league. The middle-order batter also recorded two half-centuries as he has a strike rate of 144.2 over 280 balls faced in the IPL. In the 2022 season, he joined the Bangalore-based franchise as a replacement for the injured Luvnith Sisodia. However, he was ruled out of the 2023 season due to an Achilles heel injury.