Royal Challengers Bengaluru have finally announced their new captain for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
RCB appoint Rajat Patidar as new captain for IPL 2025
The Bengaluru-based franchise has appointed Rajat Patidar as their new captain for the upcoming season. RCB came up with the big announcement in Bengaluru on February 13, Thursday at an event attended by head coach Andy Flower, team director Mo Bobat and the now new skipper Rajat Patidar.
Earlier several reports claimed that Virat Kohli is not interested to take up the RCB captaincy role for the second time in his IPL career.
Rajat Patidar's captaincy profile
Amidst all the talks, the 31-year-old star batter Rajat Patidar became the leading candidate to be the new captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Rajat Patidar was one of the players retained by RCB prior to the auction. He has a decent track record as a captain, having led Madhya Pradesh in both the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The 31-year-old had led Madhya Pradesh to the SMAT final, where they were ultimately defeated by Mumbai by five wickets. Patidar also demonstrated his batting prowess in the tournament, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer, only behind Ajinkya Rahane. He amassed 428 runs in 10 matches, averaging an impressive 61 runs per game with a remarkable strike rate of 186.08.
Rajat Patidar has been with RCB for three seasons, joining the team in 2021, and has become a key batsman, scoring 799 runs in 28 matches at a strike rate of 158.85.
Despite reaching the finals three times, most recently in 2016, RCB is still searching for their first IPL title. They've been a consistent presence in the playoffs, making it four out of the last five seasons, including 2024. In the 2024 season, they won their final six league matches to secure a spot in the top four but were then eliminated in the Eliminator.
With RCB's appointment of Patidar, only the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Delhi Capitals remain to announce their captains for the upcoming season. Shreyas Iyer, who captained KKR last year, will be leading the Punjab Kings this season, while former DC captain Rishabh Pant has taken over the captaincy of the Lucknow Super Giants.
RCB's full squad for IPL 2025:
Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Yash Dayal, Liam Livingstone (Rs. 8.75 crore), Phil Salt (Rs. 11.50 crore), Jitesh Sharma (Rs. 11 crore), Josh Hazlewood (Rs. 12.50 crore), Rasikh Dar (Rs. 6 crore), Suyash Sharma (Rs. 2.60 crore), Krunal Pandya (Rs. 5.75 crore), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Rs. 10.75 crore), Swapnil Singh (Rs. 50 lakh), Tim David (Rs. 3 crore), Romario Shepherd (Rs. 1.50 crore), Nuwan Thushara (Rs. 1.60 crore), Manoj Bhandage (Rs. 30 lakh), Jacob Bethell (Rs. 2.60 crore), Devdutt Padikkal (Rs. 2 crore), Swastik Chhikara (Rs. 30 lakh), Lungi Ngidi (Rs. 1 crore), Abhinandan Singh (Rs. 30 lakh), Mohit Rathee (Rs. 30 lakh).