Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will reveal its new captain for the upcoming edition of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), on February 13 (Thursday). At 11:30 AM IST, Star Sports Network will broadcast the RCB's selection of a new captain. Faf du Plessis captained them for three seasons, winning 21 and losing as many of 42 games after Virat Kohli resigned as captain after the 2021 tournament.
Will Virat return as captain?
Faf du Plessis was acquired by RCB for INR 7 crore in the 2022 auction following a bidding war with the Delhi Capitals (DC) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). However, RCB chose to release Du Plessis before the 2025 season, therefore they will need to select a new captain. Virat Kohli has the most experience of any member of the team. However, it is unclear if he will reclaim the captaincy in the next season.
In the 2013 edition, Kohli succeeded Daniel Vettori of New Zealand as captain, and he continued to guide them until 2021. RCB lost 70 games and won 66 of 143 under Kohli. Four games yielded no outcome, and three finished in a draw. He stepped up with the bat, scoring 4994 runs as captain in 143 matches, including five hundred and 37 fifties, despite not being able to assist RCB in winning a championship.
Is Rajat Patidar another candidate?
Rajat Patidar is another player who could be in the running in addition to Kohli. Patidar has led Indian domestic cricket teams as captain before. Madhya Pradesh placed second in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy 2024 while he was captain. Mumbai defeated MP by five wickets in the final, although Patidar was outstanding at bat, hitting an undefeated 81 off 40 balls with six fours and an equal number of sixes.
Patidar has become the tournament's third-highest run scorer. Patidar scored 428 runs with a strike rate of 186.08 and an average of 61.14 in 10 games. Patidar has amassed 799 runs for RCB in 27 games, including a career-high 112 against the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2022 Eliminator at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.
With a seven-game winning streak, RCB bounced back last year to earn a spot in the playoffs. However, they collapsed after falling to the Rajasthan Royals by four wickets in Ahmedabad's Eliminator. Along with the Punjab Kings (PBKS), RCB is one of the clubs that has participated since the inaugural season without taking home a championship.