IPL 2022: List of foreign captains RCB has had in its history 

Ahead of the much-awaited 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) announced Faf du Plessis as their new captain on Saturday.

The former South Africa skipper replaced Virat Kohli, who had been at the helm since 2013. Du Plessis became a frontrunner for the leadership role as soon as the franchise outbid Chennai Super Kings (CSK), his former team, and Delhi Capitals (DC) to sign him for ₹7 crore last month.

Faf played a crucial role in helping CSK clinch the IPL 2021 title. He amassed 633 runs during the season and was the Player of the Final for his innings of 86 off 59 deliveries.

Leapfrogging potential captaincy candidates Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik, Faf has now become the seventh player to lead the RCB unit. Non-Indian captains in the IPL have become increasingly common, du Plessis would be the latest to join that group.

On that note, let's look at three other RCB captains from the past who were from outside India.

---

#1 Kevin Pietersen - 6 Matches in 2009

Kevin Pietersen led the Bengaluru-based side in six matches during the 2009 season

RCB splurged ₹8 crore (approx) to bag the services of England's swashbuckling batter Kevin Pietersen in 2009, before naming him as the captain for their team.

He skippered the Bengaluru-based franchise for a total of six matches before leaving the tournament for national duty. In those six games, RCB won just two and were left reeling at the bottom of the table.

Anil Kumble was named the man in charge for the rest of the season. Under him, the team scripted an amazing turnaround and reached the Final of IPL 2009. However, they ended their campaign as runners-up.

---

#2 Daniel Vettori - 28 Matches in 2011 and 2012

Daniel Vettori captained the Royal Challengers for two consecutive seasons

Ahead of IPL 2011, Anil Kumble announced his retirement from the game. RCB filled the captaincy void left by Kumble's departure through the appointment of Daniel Vettori.

Vettori, who is considered as one of the legends of New Zealand cricket, led his national team in the 2011 World Cup before beginning his first-ever IPL stint as a captain.

In his very first campaign with the Bengaluru-based team, he led the side to their second IPL Final. However, they lost the ultimate game to their South Indian rivals Chennai Super Kings.

In the succeeding season, Vettori's team finished in 5th position, losing out on qualification to the next round due to a poor Net Run Rate. Overall, the left-arm spinner led the team in 28 games across competitions, recording 15 wins and losing 13. Vettori was RCB's head coach from 2014 to 2018, following his retirement.

---

#3 Shane Watson - 3 Matches in 2017

Shane Watson took the charge of captaincy in the absence of Virat Kohli (Image: Twitter)

Leading up to the start of IPL 2017, Virat Kohli sustained a shoulder injury which left him unavailable for the first three games.

RCB chose Shane Watson, who joined the franchise for a whopping ₹9.5 crore in 2016, to lead the side. As skipper, Watson's first game was also the tournament's opener, which saw a one-sided defeat for his team to the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The Red and Gold Army won their next game against Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) before again tasting defeat to Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).

A major highlight under Watson's captaincy was that he left out AB de Villiers from the playing XI twice in three matches.

However, even Kohli's return didn't manage to change the fortunes of the team that season, as they finished at the bottom with just three wins in their 14 league games.