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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) may look for a new captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. There have been speculations that they may go all out for KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant or Shreyas Iyer if they enter the mega auction. A day ahead of the retention deadline, there are also rumours that Virat Kohli may take over the reigns again as a 40-year-old Faf du Plessis is unlikely to lead them again. A source close to RCB’s top brass said they are undecided on the captain and a call will be taken after the mega auction.
“We did have a conversation about the future. For now, looking at the past few seasons and upcoming auction, we need to build our team. There is no surety over who will lead the team. However, if required, we may ask Virat to do the honours. It depends on the auction and the players we rope in. A call will be taken on captaincy only after the auction and not before,” a top source told Sports Tak.
Kohli relinquished captaincy in IPL 2021. In IPL 2023, he captained RCB in the absence of an unfit Du Plessis. He is the most experienced captain in RCB's history. The 35-year-old has led RCB in 143 matches with a win percentage of 46.15. Under his leadership, RCB made it to the IPL 2016 final. He led the team from the front and broke the record for most runs in a single season including four centuries.
Meanwhile, RCB are unlikely to retain a 40-year-old Du Plessis who led Saint Lucia Kings to their maiden Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title in the previous edition.
RCB’s probable list of retentions –
Along with Kohli, Mohammed Siraj is set to be among top retentions for the franchise. In the uncapped category, left-arm pacer Yash Dayal is likely to be retained. They may look to retain players like Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Akash Deep and others via Right to Match (RTM) card in the mega auction.
Months ahead of the deadline, RCB had roped in their former wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik as their mentor and batting coach.
