3 reasons why Rajat Patidar as RCB captain for IPL 2025 is the wrong move

Rajat Patidar has been named Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. The franchise had released their previous skipper Faf du Plessis ahead of the upcoming season.

Rajat Patidar played four games in the 2021 season but went unsold ahead of the 2022 season. However, he later joined the franchise the same season as a replacement. The 31-year-old then missed the entire 2023 season due to injury but returned in 2024.

After his impressive performance in the 2024 season, he was retained for an attractive amount of ₹11 crore ahead of the 2025 mega auction. While Patidar being appointed RCB captain reflects long-term thinking and a positive approach, it may not prove to be the right move for various reasons.

Is RCB appointing Patidar their captain the wrong move then? Here are three reasons why.

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#3 Rajat Patidar has played only 27 matches for RCB

Rajat Patidar's IPL career has been a short one so far. He played only four matches in 2021 and eight matches in 2022. He missed the 2023 season due to injury and played his first full season only last year in 2024.

Therefore, he has played only 27 matches for the franchise so far, where he has scored 799 runs with a century and seven fifties. Leading a franchise in a tournament like the IPL comes with huge pressure and responsibility and Patidar himself does not have enough experience as a player yet.

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#2 Leading a state team is different from leading in the IPL

While it can be argued that Rajat Patidar led his state team Madhya Pradesh to the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 season and proved his abilities as a captain, leading in a domestic tournament and in the IPL is completely different.

Patidar has not previously captained in any high pressure tournament such as the IPL. Therefore, it cannot be concluded whether he will be able to handle the pressure and expectation that comes with leading a franchise in the IPL, particularly RCB, who have the baggage of not winning a single title in the history of the tourmament so far.

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#1 This is the first season after a mega auction

Another important aspect to be noted is that this will be the first season after a mega auction. The mega auction took place ahead of the 2025 season, which has changed the dynamics of many teams.

RCB, in particular, do not have several players who played for them in the recent seasons. The side has several newcomers and first-timers for the franchise. Therefore, managing and leading the side right-away could be the biggest challenge for a new captain.

In such a scenario, it would have been ideal for someone like Virat Kohli to lead the side for a season before handing over the captaincy to Rajat Patidar. A season's time for Patidar to gel with the new set of players may perhaps have helped him understand the dynamics of the team in a better manner.