"For us, it was a case of prioritising and having options" - RCB director reveals reason for not buying a captain at IPL 2025 auction

Mo Bobat, director of cricket at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), has revealed the reason for not going hard at a few captaincy candidates in the IPL 2025 auction. He noted that they prioritized the options at hand and didn't want to overvalue a player.

Heading into the auction, RCB had the second-highest purse of all teams, having retained only three players. The franchise was expected to go hard after big names like Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul in the auction. However, the management decided against it.

In an event on Thursday, February 13, RCB announced Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar as the side's skipper of the side. When asked why RCB did not go for big names in the auction, Bobat replied:

"All of the guys you mentioned (Pant, Rahul, Shreyas) are great leaders and have captained somewhere. For us it was a case of prioritising and having options, we were very happy with Rajat and Virat. We were happy with the options we had in Jitesh, and Krunal and the targets we had set. We were comfortable with the internal options we had as well."

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"He's inherently quite a quiet guy, but observing him, he cares about the people around him" - RCB head coach on what qualities impressed him to appoint Patidar as captain

Speaking in the press conference after the event, Andy Flower, the RCB head coach, said that three qualities of Rajat Patidar stood out for him. Flower said:

"The first one is, that there's a calmness and a simplicity to Rajat that I think will stand 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 pressures involved in that. And I think the calm, simple demeanour that inherently lives within Rajat is going to serve him really well in the early, early of that tournament. 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 respect and care from other people, and that, 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."

With Rajat Patidar being announced RCB captain, eight of the 10 IPL franchises have announced their skippers for the upcoming season. Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals are yet to announce their captains for IPL 2025.