 "Andy Flower and Mo Bobat with Rajat Patidar at the RCB event. Image: RCB")
In a surprising turn of events, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have named Rajat Patidar as their new captain for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. The announcement comes after widespread speculation that Virat Kohli would reclaim the leadership role following the franchise’s decision not to retain Faf du Plessis, who captained the team from 2022 to 2024.
Kohli stepped down as RCB captain after the IPL 2021 season, which many consider to be his worst year in cricket overall. He also gave up his India captaincy the same year after India lost their first-ever World Cup game against Pakistan and suffered an early group-stage exit from the same tournament (2021 T20 World Cup). However, Kohli was expected to return as RCB’s captain this year, especially since he was the only member of the previous leadership group retained by the franchise.
But RCB surprised everyone with their announcement of Rajat Patidar as the new captain. Let’s check out Patidar’s captaincy record:
Rajat Patidar’s captaincy record
This is the first time Rajat Patidar will captain an IPL side. The only previous captaincy experience he has is in domestic cricket. The 31-year-old batter recently led Madhya Pradesh in the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, his first full-time captaincy assignments.
Under Patidar’s leadership, Madhya Pradesh made it to the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25 but fell short against Mumbai, losing by five wickets. Patidar played a stellar knock in the summit clash, scoring an unbeaten 81 off just 40 balls to propel his team to 174/8. However, Mumbai chased down the target with 13 balls to spare.
Meanwhile, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25, Madhya Pradesh finished third in Group E, narrowly missing out on a quarterfinal spot.
Rajat Patidar’s IPL performance
Rajat Patidar was initially bought by RCB in the IPL 2021 auction but was released ahead of the 2022 season. He made his way back to the franchise in IPL 2022 as a replacement for the injured Luvnith Sisodia at a price of INR 20 lakh. The right-handed batter has since played 24 innings, amassing 799 runs at an impressive strike rate of 158.85. His IPL record includes one century and seven half-centuries.
List of players who have captained RCB
Rahul Dravid (2008)
Kevin Pietersen (first half of the season in 2009)
Anil Kumble (2009-2010)
Daniel Vettori (2011-2012)
Virat Kohli (2011-2021, stand-in in 2023)
Shane Watson (stand-in in 2017)
Faf du Plessis (2022-2024)