What happened to Rajat Bhatia? Delhi cricketer's life post winning IPL with KKR

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has given a platform to a string of youngsters since its inception in 2008. Some have been able to make the most out of the opportunities while others have failed to grab opportunities by the horns. There are some players who consistently perform at the domestic level but fail to make it to the international stage. One such cricketer who played consistent cricket is Delhi all-rounder Rajat Bhatia. The prominent all-rounder from Delhi hasn't featured in IPL for three years now. This has made fans wonder 'What happened to Rajat Bhatia?' afterall.

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What happened to Rajat Bhatia? Delhi cricketer's IPL career

One of the veterans in the domestic circuit, Rajat Bhatia has been playing cricket for more than two decades now. He may not be a famous name in the international cricket circuit, but he is one of the few Indian players to have an enormous amount of experience in playing first-class cricket. Rajat Bhatia made his debut for Tamil Nadu in 1999 and has played 112 first-class matches, which are a milestone in itself. The veteran all-rounder was instrumental in Delhi's Ranji Trophy title win in 2007 where he amassed 512 runs in 7 matches.

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Rajat Bhatia played for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the inaugural season of the IPL. After three successful years with Delhi Daredevils, Rajat Bhatia was brought by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2011 auction where he played under Gautam Gambhir. He played a crucial role in Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL title win in 2012.

Rajat Bhatia was bought by Rajasthan Royals before the IPL 2014 at a price of ₹1.7 crore. After a couple of years with the Royals, Rajat Bhatia was picked by the now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016. In his 10 years in the IPL, Rajat Bhatia made a name for himself with his slow bowling and deceptive variations.

Injuries plagued his career, which is one of the reasons he has missed put on a lot of matches in domestic cricket. Rajat Bhatia, who majorly played for Delhi, was let go by the state in November 2015. He represented Delhi in 81 matches where he scored 4666 runs and picked 96 wickets. He then played for Rajasthan and subsequently transferred to Uttarakhand ahead of the 2018-19 Ranji season.

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What happened to Rajat Bhatia? Rajat Bhatia career stats

In his first-class and List A appearances, Bhatia scored 6482 and 3038 runs respectively with 20 centuries and 49 half-centuries. As far as bowling is concerned, Bhatia has grabbed 137 and 93 wickets in first-class and List A respectively. In IPL, he played 95 matches and scored 342 runs at an average of 11.40 and strike rate of around 120. On the other hand, he picked up 71 wickets at an average of 28.45 and economy rate of 7.40.

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IMAGE COURTESY: TWITTER/GREYMIND43