For the 2025 Indian Premier League, which starts on March 21, Rajat Patidar has been named captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Following their decision to not retain Faf du Plessis as their captain from 2022 to 2024, there was widespread anticipation that Virat Kohli will lead RCB once more. This move went against that notion.
t a ceremony in Bengaluru on Thursday, Patidar, head coach Andy Flower, and team director Mo Bobat were present when RCB made the news. Since joining the team in 2021, he has played three seasons and developed into one of their main hitters, amassing 799 runs with a strike rate of 158.85 in 28 games.
Prior to the November mega-auction, RCB kept three players, including 31-year-old Patidar. He led his state team Madhya Pradesh in the 2024–25 seasons of the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy and the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, but this will be his first time serving as captain in the IPL. His first full-time domestic cricket captaincy assignments were those competitions.He scored 428 runs in nine innings at an average of 61.14 and a strike rate of 186.08, ranking him as the second-highest run scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Patidar scored 226 runs at an average of 56.50 and a strike rate of 107.10 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Despite becoming finalists three times, the most recent being in 2016, RCB has failed to win the IPL championship. In 2024, after winning their last six league games to place in the top four, they lost the Eliminator, but they have advanced to the playoffs in four of the previous five seasons.The Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders are the only other teams who have not yet announced their captains for the forthcoming season, after RCB selected Patidar. While former DC captain Rishabh Pant is currently heading the Lucknow Super Giants, last year’s captain of KKR, Shreyas Iyer, will lead the Punjab Kings this season.
