3 reasons why RCB must appoint Rajat Patidar as their captain for IPL 2025
Rajat Patidar is one of the three players retained by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction. Patidar came into RCB as a replacement player. He displayed his potential when he slammed an unbeaten 54-ball 112 against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2022 Eliminator.
While he missed the 2023 season due to injury, he made a brilliant comeback in 2024. Rajat Patidar was one of RCB's batting mainstays last season, scoring 395 runs at an impressive strike-rate of 177.13, including five half-centuries.
He had a sensational season, displaying a fearless approach in the middle overs, taking the attack to spinners and fast bowlers alike. RCB lacked better intent in the middle overs but Rajat emerged as the solution for the same.
Given his solid performance, he has rightfully been retained ahead of the upcoming season. RCB let go of their skipper Faf du Plessis. While there are reports of Virat Kohli taking on the captaincy once again, there is no confirmation yet.
In such a scenario, the franchise will be on the hunt for a captain in the upcoming auction. However, in Rajat Patidar, they have a potential captaincy option, and here is why they should appoint him as their leader for IPL 2025.
#3 RCB will need a new captain after 2-3 years
With Virat Kohli stepping down as RCB skipper, the franchise roped in Faf du Plessis ahead of the 2022 season. Faf led the team for three seasons and also performed well with the bat, scoring 468 runs in 2022, 730 runs in 2023, and 438 runs in 2024.
However, the 40-year-old was released ahead of the 2025 auction, possibly due to the reason that he may not play three more seasons. Hence, they are now on the hunt for a new captain.
Similarly, as in the case of Faf, there might come up a situation where the team will have to look for a captain once again after a couple of seasons or so. That said, RCB could look at a long-term perspective and build a captain for the next three to five seasons in the form of Rajat Patidar.
#2 The need for an Indian captain
Going by the name of the league, teams that have had Indian captains have traditionally been successful, such as Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. While Virat could not lead RCB to a title, another Indian captain to lead the side would not be a bad choice.
At the IPL 2025 auction, the likes of Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer are some prominent options for teams looking at Indian captains. However, the auction dynamics cannot be trusted and there is no guarantee of acquiring these players.
If RCB fail to bring in either of the above-mentioned names, they could consider giving the captaincy role to Rajat Patidar. CSK appointed Ruturaj Gaikwad as their skipper, who is being groomed under MS Dhoni. Likewise, with Virat still in the side, Rajat can be groomed as a long-term leader with his guidance.
#1 Rajat Patidar will come in with some captaincy experience
Rajat Patidar, who plays domestic cricket for Madhya Pradesh (MP), is set to lead his state team in the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He will certainly gain some captaincy experience during his role as leader of Madhya Pradesh in India's prestigious domestic T20 tournament.
It can be argued that the Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the IPL are two completely different tournaments on every level. However, his role as MP captain will allow him to gain some understanding of the nuances of captaincy.
With the likes of Virat Kohli in the squad and Dinesh Karthik in the management, both of whom have enough captaincy experience, Rajat can be handed over the role and can lead the side with their input as well.