Rajat Patidar Is the RCB New Captain: The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have announced Rajat Patidar as their captain for the upcoming IPL 2025 season, which is set to kick off in just over a month
RCB are one of the franchises that had to name a new skipper. South African Faf du Plessis led them in the last three seasons. RCB didn’t retain the 40-year-old Faf ahead of the mega auction, and neither did they buy him back, which meant they would have a change in personnel at their helm.
They had a few options in their arsenal, none more compelling than Rajat Patidar. Though Virat Kohli was another big name for the role, RCB management said that they are looking for a long-term option and thus they went with a younger Patidar.
A new chapter begins for RCB and we couldn’t be more excited for Ra-Pa! 🤩
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) February 13, 2025
From being scouted for two to three years before he first made it to RCB in 2021, to coming back as injury replacement in 2022, missing out in 2023 due to injury, bouncing back and leading our middle… pic.twitter.com/gStbPR2fwc
Virat Kohli record as RCB captain in IPL:
Kohli captained RCB from 2013 to 2021 before stepping down from the position, as he also stepped down from India’s T20I captaincy the same year. Kohli led RCB in three games in IPL 2023 when Faf was injured.
Kohli has captained RCB in 143 matches in the IPL, the second-most by a skipper in the IPL, behind only MS Dhoni. Under Virat Kohli, RCB won 68 matches and lost 71, and their best finish in a season was in 2016, when they reached the final on the back of Kohli’s mind-boggling 973-run season but lost the final to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Kohli was also the Orange Cap winner in IPL 2024 for amassing 741 runs as RCB reached the playoffs in a sensational fashion, turning around their campaign after a spate of losses in the first half of the season. They lost in the Eliminator last season.
Rajat Patidar Is the RCB New Captain: What Is His CAptaincy Experience?
Patidar has been with RCB since 2021 and is one of the best hitters in the country. Patidar recently led his state, Madhya Pradesh, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, the two premier domestic T20 and 50-over competitions in the country.
Phil Salt, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, and Liam Livingstone are players in RCB’s squad who have captaincy experience at some levels but were unlikely choices to lead them in IPL 2025.
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals are the two remaining franchises that are yet to officially announce their captains. The two other franchises that will have new skippers in IPL 2025 are Punjab Kings (Shreyas Iyer) and Lucknow Super Giants (Rishabh Pant).
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