RCB announce new captain for IPL 2025; Virat Kohli to not lead

After high anticipation and intense speculation, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have named their captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. Flamboyant batter Rajat Patidar from Madhya Pradesh has been appointed skipper by the franchise. He takes over the role from South Africa's Faf du Plessis.

On Thursday, February 13, RCB wrote on X/Twitter:

"The next captain of RCB is… Many greats of the game have carved a rich captaincy heritage for RCB, and it’s now time for this focused, fearless and fierce competitor to lead us to glory! This calmness under pressure and ability to take on challenges, as he’s shown us in the past, will be a game-changer for RCB. Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s hear it for our Spin Basher, the cool and composed, 𝗥𝗮𝗷𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗿."

The franchise needed a new leader after parting ways with Faf du Plessis at the end of the three-year cycle. After the mega-auction last November, they were left with a set of options, with the front-runners being two members of their initial retention list - Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar.

Some of RCB's auction picks — Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar — also have leadership experience under their belt.

Barring Virat Kohli, who led the franchise for nine years, and du Plessis in recent times, RCB have never had a long-term captain. The likes of Kevin Pietersen, Anil Kumble, Shane Watson, Rahul Dravid, and Daniel Vettori have all led the franchise in the past.

Rajat Patidar led Madhya Pradesh into the final of the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy ahead of RCB captaincy role

Last year, the 31-year-old was handed over the leadership responsibilities of the Madhya Pradesh white-ball side, as he took over from Shubham Sharma. He guided the Madhya Pradesh team to the final of the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with a dominant run that included eight wins and one loss. However, they fell short against a star-studded Mumbai side in the final.

Patidar also recently led Madhya Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where the side finished third in Group E, missing out on the knockouts. He had also played as captain during the 2019 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Patidar has had quite a journey with RCB so far. After a bleak first impression, he returned to the team as an injury replacement to cement his place in the middle order. He made a strong comeback in 2024 after being ruled out of the 2023 edition. From being an injury replacement to a core member to being retained, and now as captain, Patidar has kept unfurling chapters in his RCB career.