Rajat Patidar was announced as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain ahead of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season on Thursday.
Patidar was chosen ahead of Virat Kohli as RCB skipper.
Kohli was the RCB captain between 2013 and 2021 before stepping down as Faf du Plessis took over.
But RCB released Du Plessis, who was their skipper from 2022 to 2024, ahead of last year’s mega auction. The 40-year-old Du Plessis will play for Delhi Capitals this season.
Kohli has a fine record as RCB captain, though he could not land them the title.
The 36-year-old has led RCB in 143 matches, the second-longest stint as captain after the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings.
Kohli has 68 wins 70 losses and four no-results to show as RCB leader.
In 2016, Kohli had led the franchise to the IPL final, and made 973 runs, to date the highest for a batter in a single IPL season.
In IPL 2024, Kohli was the top run-getter with 741 runs at a strike rate of 154.
On the other hand, Patidar was among RCB’s retained players ahead of the auction and has the experience of leading Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.
The 31-year-old Patidar had guided Madhya Pradesh to the SMAT final where they lost to Mumbai by five wickets.
He was also the second-highest run-getter, behind Ajinkya Rahane, with 428 from 10 matches at an average of 61 and a strike rate of 186.08.
Retained: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Yash Dayal
Bought At Auction: Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee
(With inputs from Agencies)
