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In a big move, Rajat Patidar, the 31-year-old middle-order batter, has been named the new captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The announcement was made by the franchise at an event held at KSCA on Thursday, February 13.
A New Era for RCB
RCB was without a captain after releasing Faf du Plessis, who had been leading the team in recent seasons. The franchise had no clear captaincy candidate before the start of the 2025 IPL season. However, the announcement of Patidar as the new leader marks a new direction for the team. Patidar is now the eighth captain of the franchise.
Patidar has shown leadership skills, having led Madhya Pradesh to the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this season, making him a strong candidate to lead RCB.
Patidar's IPL Journey
Patidar made his IPL debut in 2021 and has been part of the RCB squad since then. He has played 27 games for the team, scoring 799 runs at a strike rate of 158.85. His ability to dominate both pace and spin has made him a valuable asset for RCB.
Ahead of the mega auctions, he was retained by RCB for INR 11 Crore, along with Virat Kohli and Yash Dayal. Despite being released before the 2022 IPL season, an injury to Luvinth Sisodia gave Patidar a chance to return as a replacement player. He grabbed the opportunity, scoring 333 runs in 8 innings, including a century.
Since then, Patidar has become an integral part of the team and will now lead them in the 2025 IPL season.
RCB's Leadership History
RCB has had notable captains over the years. Virat Kohli captained the team from 2012 to 2021, taking them to the playoffs in 2015 and 2020 and to the runner-up position in 2016. Kohli’s leadership brought a lot of attention to the franchise, especially when he scored a record 973 runs in the 2016 IPL season.
After Kohli stepped down, Faf du Plessis took over as captain. Du Plessis led RCB to the playoffs in 2022 and 2023. Kohli also captained the team for three matches in 2023, stepping in while du Plessis was recovering from an injury.
With Rajat Patidar now at the helm, RCB fans are excited to see a new chapter unfold for the team in IPL 2025.
