NEW DELHI: Indian Premier League (IPL) team Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday named Rajat Patidar as captain for the 2025 edition starting March 21.
Patidar has the experience of leading Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (ODI) and was among RCB’s retained players before last year’s mega auction.
The 31-year-old Patidar, who guided Madhya Pradesh to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final where they lost to Mumbai by five wickets last year, had signed up with the franchise in 2022.
But having a superstar like Virat Kohli in the team, it was largely speculated that the captaincy would go to him, even though TimesofIndia.com had reported that Kohli won’t be named captain.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Mo Bobat, Director of Cricket at RCB said that Kohli was indeed an option for captaincy but he and coach Andy Flower had their reasons to choose Patidar over Kohli.
Mo Bobat said, “Andy and I felt blessed we had many options. We were keen on an Indian option because someone with local insight is helpful for us. Of course Virat was an option. Virat doesn’t need a captaincy title to lead. It just comes naturally to him. He leads as an example with the bat. He leads in the field. He sets the tone with his energy. He likes a scrap. The way he practices, nutrition, he is a leader. Pretty sure Rajat will lean on him too. Virat had so much energy for the decision. He knows Rajat is deserving for this captaincy.”
With 428 runs from 10 games at an average of 61 and a strike-rate of 186.08, Patidar was also the second-highest run scorer in the elite domestic T20 tournament, behind Ajinkya Rahane.
Despite his excellent record, Kohli was unable to lead the RCB to the championship during his tenure as captain from 2013 to 2021.
The 36-year-old captained RCB for 143 games, which was the second-longest tenure after the illustrious Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Patidar was congratulated on the appointment by Kohli.
“Myself and the other team members will be right behind you, Rajat,” Kohli said in a video statement shared by the franchise.
“The way you have grown in this franchise and the way you have performed, you’ve made a place in the hearts of all RCB fans. This is very well deserved,” he added.
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