Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday announced Rajat Patidar as skipper for IPL 2025, contrary to wide-spread speculations of Virat Kohli returning as skipper of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after the franchise released former captain Faf du Plessis, their captain from 2022 to 2024, before the mega auction.
Patidar, who was unveiled at an event attended by team director Mo Bobat, head coach Andy Flower in Bengaluru, will be the eighth RCB captain and has played three seasons for the franchise since joining them in 2021 and has grown into one of their key batters, scoring 799 runs in 28 matches at a strike rate of 158.85.
“I could speak for quite a long time about Rajat, but I’ve settled on three main things that I thought might be interesting to share. The first one is there’s a calmness and a simplicity to Rajat that I think will stand him in really good stead as a leader and a captain, particularly in the IPL. As we know, the IPL is one of the premier competitions in the world and there’s pressure involved in that, and I think the calm, simple demeanour that inherently lives within Rajat is going to serve him really well in the hurly-burly of that tournament,” Flower said.
“And his decision-making will be tested like all of ours is. But I think these qualities will stand him in really good stead. We watched Rajat very closely as he captained Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and we really liked what we saw around those qualities.
“The second thing I’d say about him, he’s inherently quite a quiet guy, but observing him, he cares about the people around him, he cares about the people that he plays with, that he shares a dressing room with. And I think that’s a quality that means that he will instantly have the respect and care from other people. As a leader, those qualities are important. In that people will follow you and get behind you.
“And then the third thing that stands out for me about him is that he’s got a stubbornness and a strength and a steeliness about him. I’ve seen it myself when I’m trying to coach him in the nets and he won’t listen to me, but you see it in the way that he plays. You see the bravery with which he takes on the game and I think that quality within him will be really important for him through the ups and downs, the inevitable ups and downs that come along with playing in the IPL, and now stepping up another gear into leading a big franchise in the IPL,” Flower added.
In a video released by RCB, former skipper Kohli congratulated Patidar on the appointment, emphasising that he has earned the right to be in this position.
“The way you have grown in this franchise and the way you have performed, you have really made a place in the hearts of all the fans of RCB all over India and they get really excited to watch you play,” Kohli said.
“I’ve seen Rajat evolve in the last couple of years as a player. He has got the chance to play for India. His game has improved many levels in the last couple of years.
“The way he has led his state team as well and the responsibility that he’s taken and has shown everyone that he has what it takes to lead this amazing franchise and I just wish him all the very best and I would request all the fans to show him absolute support, get right behind him and know that he will always and always do what’s best for the team, what’s best for this franchise,” Kohli added.
Team director Mo Bobat said that they wanted an Indian captain to lead RCB this time around.
“Andy and I felt quite blessed that we had quite a few to choose from,” he said. “Whether we went Indian or overseas was an important discussion point for us. We felt quite strongly that an Indian captain was preferable.
“That’s nothing against any overseas options, but we were really keen on an Indian option primarily because it’s an Indian competition on Indian pitches against predominantly Indian players. So somebody who’s got that local knowledge and insight is really, really helpful for us.”
RCB have not won the IPL title yet, though they have been finalists three times, the last of which was in 2016. They have made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, including in 2024, when they won their last six league matches to get into the top four but then lost the Eliminator.
For RCB fans, the 31-year-old Patidar’s primary task will be to take the team to the title for the first time in the cash-rich tournament.