All-Time RCB Captain List In The IPL ft. Rajat Patidar

All-Time RCB Captain List In The IPL: IPL side Royal Challengers Bengaluru have announced that batter Rajat Patidar will be the team’s captain heading into the 2025 season. This makes him the eighth-ever player to lead this franchise in the T20 league.

Today, we will look at all the captains RCB has had in their 17+ year existence, how they have fared on the pitch, and how many victories they have led the side to.

Here is the all time RCB captain list in the IPL:

Table of Contents

All-Time RCB Captain List In The IPL

1) Rahul Dravid

When the Indian Premier League was formed in 2008, a marquee player rule was in place. This meant that the cities with legendary players in the Indian Cricket Team could be picked by their home-city franchise for a fee. This way, the Mumbai Indians picked up Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly went to Kolkata, etc. Rahul Dravid, being from Bengaluru, was brought in and made captain of the then Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Dravid only captained the team in the first season in 2008, losing 10 matches and winning just four out of 14 as ECB finished seventh on the table. His career as an RCB player lasted much longer; in three seasons for the franchise from 2008 to 2010, he scored 898 runs in 43 IPL games.

Check Out: Rajat Patidar Is the RCB New Captain

2) Kevin Pietersen

First named the captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2009, the English superstar batter was stripped of the captaincy mid-season as he had to leave the league mid-season, having only led the team in six matches, winning only two of them.

KP only played 13 games across two seasons for the RCB, scoring 329 runs and not playing much of a role in the side’s success in the two years he was with them.

3) Anil Kumble

With Pietersen gone, RCB looked towards another local legend to steer the team to success as we arrived at the first RCB legend in terms of his performances for the team. Anil Kumble captained the side in the remainder of the 2009 and the complete 2010 season.

In the 35 matches, he led the side across all competitions; ‘Jumbo’ won 19 and lost 16, the first RCB captain with a positive win record. As a bowler, Kumble took 45 wickets in 42 games for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at an average of 23.51 and an economy of 6.58.

4) Daniel Vettori

The next permanent RCB captain was the New Zealand legendary spinner Daniel Vettori. Picked to lead the side in 2011 towards the end of his playing career.

Having been bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore as a player and leadership replacement for Anil Kumble, Vettori did a fine job in the two seasons he captained, winning 15 and losing 13 out of the 28 matches he captained across all competitions.

Check Out: All-Time RCB Captain List In The IPL

5) Virat Kohli

For the first time in franchise history, RCB looked toward the future to pick their next captain. By 2013, Virat Kohli had already become the vice-captain of the Indian Cricket Team and an absolute star for RCB. Having already been the vice-captain of the RCB and led a few matches in Vettori’s absence, Kohli was named the permanent captain in 2013.

Under Virat, this side saw some of their greatest moments. He led the side in 143 IPL games, winning 66, losing 70, and tying three. Virat Kohli is THE Royal Challengers Bengaluru player of all time, being not only the franchise but also the league’s highest run-scorer with 8004 runs in 252 matches.

6) Shane Watson

Shane Watson’s chapter of RCB captaincy is very short-lived, as he only led the side in three matches in 2017 in Virat’s absence, winning one and losing two of those games. In fact, out of all the teams Watto has played for, his least effective tenure was with the RCB.

7) Faf du Plessis

The most recent Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain, Faf du Plessis, was picked in the mega-auction by the franchise after Kohli had stepped down from the captaincy role. The legendary South African batter had three successful seasons with the team, reaching the playoffs in two out of three seasons.

Faf himself was fantastic for RCB for the most part, scoring 1636 runs in three seasons for the team.

8) Rajat Patidar

On February 13, 2025, RCB announced that Rajat Patidar would be the franchise captain heading into IPL 2025. Patidar has been one of the most exciting players for the franchise in recent years.

Due to injuries and other reasons, he played only eight games in the 2022 season and missed the entire 2023 season. In the only eight games he played in 2022, he scored 333 runs with an average of over 55 and a 50+ strike rate. Then, returning to the side in 2024, Rajat scored 395 runs in 15 games with a near 180 strike rate. In the 27 games for the franchise since 2021, he has scored 799 runs at an average of 24.74 and a strike rate of 158.85.

Rajat Patidar will now be the eighth-ever captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and will look to do something no one has ever done: lead RCB to an IPL title.