Rajat Patidar, the 31-year old middle order batter, has been appointed as the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The announcement was made by the franchise at an event at the KSCA on Thursday.
As the flag bearer of RCB heading into #IPL2025 – Rajat is committed to taking us to newer heights!
Lead us to glory, RA-PA! We’re all right behind you! ❤#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #RCBCaptain #Rajat #RajatPatidar #PatidarPattabhisheka #RaPa pic.twitter.com/9efZkW1mZn
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) February 13, 2025
After having released Faf du Plessis, who had captained the side in the previous seasons, the Bengaluru-franchise were without a captaincy candidate ahead of the 2025 season. Patidar, who had led Madhya Pradesh to the final of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this season, is now set to become the eighth player to lead RCB.
Patidar’s IPL journey so far:
Patidar made his IPL debut in 2021 and has been a part of the franchise since then. With the ability to dominate pace and spin with equal ease, he has featured in 27 games for RCB, scoring 799 runs at a strike rate of 158.85. He was one of the three retentions for RCB ahead of the mega auctions, apart from Virat Kohli and Yash Dayal. He was retained for INR 11 Crore.
However, he was released from the squad ahead of the 2022 season and went unsold at the auctions. An unfortunate injury to Luvinth Sisodia during the 2022 season, allowed Patidar another chance with the RCB as a replacement player. He made a strong impression, scoring 333 runs in 8 innings, including a century, and since then became an integral part of the side.
The New Captain of RCB #RajatPatidar 🔥
Virat Kohli: “I will always be behind you” 🤝
Great words by #ViratKohli for RCB captain Rajat Patidar ❤️#Rcbcaptain | #RajatPatidar |#IPL2025 | #RCB pic.twitter.com/93K6d42REQ
— Nagendra pandey (@nagendr_25) February 13, 2025
Patidar’s appointment is a fresh direction for the Royal Challengers, who have been led by Virat Kohli and du Plessis over the years. Kohli first captained the team in May 2011, stepping in for Daniel Vettori who was not available for three matches. He took over full-time captaincy of the team in 2012 and led the team until the 2021 season.
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