Rajat Patidar has been appointed RCB's new captain for the IPL 2025 season.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday (February 13) announced Rajat Patidar as their new captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Following the release of Faf du Plessis, RCB didn't buy anyone with leadership abilities in the mega auction last November. It was speculated that one between Virat Kohli and Patidar would be given the charge.
Kohli had led RCB from 2013 to 2021. The high point of his captaincy came in 2016, when they finished runners-up to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
On the other hand, Patidar, who was one of the three players retained by RCB for IPL 2025, captained Madhya Pradesh in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier in the season.
As it turned out, RCB handed the captaincy responsibilities to Patidar, under whom Madhya Pradesh reached the final of the SMAT (domestic T20 tournament).
Speaking on Star Sports, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar weighed in on the decision, opining that Kohli would be at his very best after RCB didn't put pressure on him with the responsibility of leadership.
“I thought RCB took a very good decision. They didn't want to put pressure on Virat Kohli by giving him the responsibility of captaincy. When someone is in the nothing-to-lose zone, you must have seen reality shows, when someone is out of the race or singing in his farewell round,” Manjrekar said.
Manjrekar expects Kohli and Rohit Sharma to play their best cricket in the upcoming edition of the IPL, which starts on March 22 with the KKR versus RCB clash at the Eden Gardens.
“I think the best of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in recent times will be seen in this IPL. These two are big brands of Indian cricket, are together in this game,” he added.
Virat Kohli is the highest run-getter in the history of the IPL, having piled up 8004 runs at a strike rate of 131.97 with eight hundreds and 55 half-centuries to his name.
Last season, Kohli amassed 741 runs at a strike rate of 61.75 with a top score of 113 not out, taking RCB through to the playoffs with six consecutive wins in the league stage. However, RCB crashed out of the tournament after losing to Rajasthan Royals by four wickets in the Eliminator.