In a shocking announcement, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) appointed Rajat Patidar as captain for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Thursday in Bengaluru, as team director Mo Bobat and head coach Andy Flower cajoled in attendance.
It comes as a bittersweet surprise because many anticipated that Virat Kohli would step back once again into the captaincy seat, especially considering that RCB did not retain Faf du Plessis, who led the team from 2022 to 2024. Patidar, who has done splendidly for the team in recent seasons, has been given a special chance instead.
The season commences on March 21, and Patidar will want to begin the season solidly under his captaincy. With a strong, talented squad, RCB aspires to survive long in the tournament and win their inaugural IPL title. This marks the dawn of a new phase with the entry of Patidar as captain, and the fans will certainly be keeping an eye.
Rajat Patidar is the eighth captain for RCB
Patidar, who earlier had led Madhya Pradesh to the finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season, will now be the eighth player to captain RCB. He made his IPL debut in 2021 and has been a part of the franchise ever since.
With the ability to dominate both pace and strike, he is known for having played 27 games for RCB and collected 799 runs at a strike rate of 158.85. He was one of the three retentions for RCB before the mega auctions, apart from Virat Kohli and Yash Dayal. He was retained at 11 crores.
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