Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to RCB appointing Rajat Patidar as captain for IPL 2025 ft. AB de Villiers

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) appointed Rajat Patidar as their new captain ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. The franchise had retained the star batter for ₹11 crore ahead of the 2025 season auction.

RCB let go of their previous captain Faf du Plessis and did not retain him or buy him back. While many expected Virat Kohli to take over as captain once again, the franchise made a different move by announcing Rajat Patidar as captain.

The right-hander has played 27 matches for RCB in his IPL career so far and has scored 799 runs at an average of 34.73 and a strike-rate of 158.84 with a hundred and seven fifties.

RCB made it to the playoffs last season but failed to win the title. They have never won the trophy in the history of the IPL and will hope for change in fortunes with a new captain this time around.

That said, let us take a look at what some of the experts had to say on RCB's decision to name Rajat Patidar captain ahead of the upcoming season.

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Top 5 expert reactions to RCB appointing Rajat Patidar as captain for IPL 2025

#5 Kris Srikkanth

Former India batter and 1983 World Cup winner Kris Srikkanth, on his YouTube channel "Cheeky Cheeka", said that Virat would have denied the captaincy to focus on his batting.

“I think it is Virat who said no to the captaincy. He must have wanted to focus on batting and RCB did all of this in consultation with Virat Kohli," he said.

He backed the decision, saying that Rajat is a good choice. He also compared Rajat's appointment as RCB captain to that of MS Dhoni's appointment as India captain in 2007.

“He (Rajat) is a good choice. He has been doing well in the IPL, and the good thing is that he will not carry a lot of expectations, like how Dhoni was appointed in 2007 as the Indian captain, not a lot was expected from his team. Rajat will take his calls, and he has Virat Kohli to consult any time,” he reckoned.

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#4 Aakash Chopra

Former India batter Aakash Chopra highlighted the fact that Rajat will be RCB's eighth captain after some big names who have led the side in the past.

"Rajat Patidar is RCB's new leader. We shall find out how effective he would be. We thought it would be Kohli, but he is not. Rajat Patidar is the eighth captain. Before him, they had Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Kevin Pietersen, Daniel Vettori, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, who captained them for the longest time," he said while talking on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra'.

He went on to compare Rajat's appointment to that of Sanju Samson being appointed as captain of Rajasthan Royals when he did not have enough international experience.

"RCB have gone towards Rajat Patidar in the new era starting for them. He is 31 years old. So he is no spring chicken. However, he is a captain who has played less than 10 international games for India. I remember Sanju Samson being made Rajasthan Royals captain when he had played less than 10 international games," he added.



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#3 Mohammad Kaif

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif expressed surprise over the franchises' call to name Rajat as captain and not Virat Kohli.

“I was a little surprised. I thought Virat Kohli would lead RCB, given they did not retain Faf du Plessis. I thought Kohli was effectively running RCB. Even if he is not the captain of the side, it is his job to tell the management to buy certain players and back them. So, if Patidar has become captain, Virat Kohli is behind it," he was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

While Kaif understood the reason behind the decision, saying that the team would have wanted a young captain, he opined that it will be difficult for Rajat to lead the side.

“If Kohli did not become the captain and Rajat Patidar did, then certainly he is behind that. Kohli is 37; he must have wanted to focus on his batting and wanted a young player to lead the side, keeping the franchise's future in mind. But it will be difficult for Patidar,” he said.

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#2 Mike Hesson

Former director of cricket at RCB, Mike Hesson expressed his excitement on Rajat being appointed as the new skipper. Taking to his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Hesson believes that it is an exciting time for the 31-year-old to captain the side.

"Well it's an appropriate time to go into the cupboard and pull out some RCB merch because Rajat Patidar has just been named the captain for RCB for this coming season and beyond. And it's an exciting time for Rajat. The first time we came across Rajat was leading up to the 2021 auction," he said.

He went on to praise Rajat for his technique and described what sets him apart from other players as a batter.

"We did plenty of scouting on him. We saw Rajat as a player who had immense talent. He had a technique that was very much repeatable and probably the thing that we noticed the most was that he was able to generate power from a stable base. You know, you'll see many players in the IPL who need to come down the wicket to hit sixes down the ground. Rajat doesn't need to do that. You know, quite a diminutive character but really powerful."

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#1 AB de Villiers

Former RCB legend AB de Villiers also jumped in to express his thoughts on Rajat's appointment as captain of the franchise. Talking on the "AB de Villiers 360" YouTube channel, he said that he is confident of Rajat's abilities despite not knowing what to expect from him as a leader.

"Recently, RCB announced Rajat Patidar as captain for the upcoming season. One word for Rajat's captaincy. I have no idea what to expect, but I'm quietly confident. I'm very positive. I know what kind of man he is. He's a wonderful person and a great cricketer. I've never played under him, guys, so I can't tell you what kind of captain he's going to be. I can tell you that as a person, he's always very calm and collected," he opined.

The former RCB star also added that the team has to think long term with Rajat Patidar as he is what the franchise needs at this point.

"He's in control of his emotions, and I think that's what RCB needs. A younger captain who could possibly have a solid season and build for a long period of time. We've got to think long-term with him," he added.