On Thursday, February 13, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will reveal their new Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) captain. At 11:30 AM IST, the announcement will be live-streamed on Star Sports Network from Bengaluru.
Faf du Plessis, who captained the squad from 2022 to 2024, was let go by the franchise, leaving RCB without a leader. RCB played 42 games when he was captain, winning 21 of them and losing the remaining ones. The team hasn’t yet won its first championship, though. Du Plessis was acquired by the Delhi Capitals at his base price after he was not retained before to.
The IPL 2025 auction and RCB decided not to bid for him.
Virat Kohli, who captained RCB for nine seasons from 2013 to 2021 before resigning, is the clear favourite to be captain. In the IPL 2023, Kohli briefly led the team once more for three games. With 68 victories and 70 defeats in 143 games, the star hitter led the team. Even though he never led RCB to an IPL championship, Kohli’s batting prowess—which included his unprecedented 2016 season of 973 runs—makes him a valuable asset. With 741 runs at a strike rate of 154.69 in the 2024 Indian Premier League, Kohli once again held the top spot in terms of runs scored.
Rajat Patidar is an additional applicant for the position.
It’s unclear, though, if Kohli would be open to assuming the leadership position. In addition to the 36-year-old, Rajat Patidar, who joined RCB in 2021 and was one of their three retained players before to the IPL 2025 mega auction, is another potential contender. During the 2024–25 season, Patidar led Madhya Pradesh to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, giving him experience as a domestic captain. Additionally, with 428 runs at a strike rate of 186.08, he finished as the third-highest run scorer.
Even though RCB is one of the most popular IPL teams, they have yet to win a championship. They staged an incredible comeback last season, winning seven straight games to earn a spot in the playoffs before losing to the Rajasthan Royals. In addition to RCB, teams like the Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders have not yet revealed their captains for the forthcoming campaign.
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