Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Thursday (February 13) announced Rajat Patidar as their new captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
The franchise held a press conference at 11:30 AM today to reveal their new skipper for IPL 2025 and beyond.
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).
"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, ???????????????????? ????????????????????????????!," RCB confirmed through a tweet.
RCB full squad for IPL 2025
Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Yash Dayal, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee.
