Rajat Patidar has been confirmed as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 edition.

The announcement was made on Thursday by Director of Cricket Mo Bobat and head coach Andy Flower. South Africa's Faf du Plessis led the side in the past three seasons, but after he was let go from the franchise, RCB's hunt for a new captain began. It was speculated that Virat Kohli might once again don the captaincy hat, but the management put its faith on Patidar instead.

"I think it is a great opportunity for me to learn from one of the best in cricket. His experience will help me in my leadership role. I have done a lot of partnerships with him, I know him very well. His ideas and experience will definitely help me in my leadership role," Patidar said on working with Kohli.

Patidar even made his debut for India last year, in the home series against England, but after scores of 32, 9, 5, 17 and two ducks, he was dropped. But his real talent lies in T20 cricket. Recently, Patidar led Madhya Pradesh to the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where his side lost to Shreyas Iyer-led Mumbai. The right-handed batter has been in phenomenal form, hitting spinners for fun.

Patidar, one of the three players to be retained, first joined RCB in IPL 2021, where he played just four matches and scored 71 runs. He then once again joined the franchise in 2022 as a replacement for the injured Luvnith Sisodia for INR 20 lakh, and scored 333 runs, with his highest score being 112 not out. His knock came in the Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The right-hander then missed the 2023 season due to an injury. In the last season, Patidar managed 395 runs at an average of 30.38 and a strike rate of 177.13.

"I think I'm not looking back. I'm looking forward from here. So as I said, as I mentioned earlier, that we have a lot of experienced players and a lot of experienced leaders also. And I think definitely it will help me as we move forward from here. So as a captain, if, see my way of captaincy is different. So I think I'll back my instinct. And at the same time, I'll ask the questions to some of the experienced players, And at the same time, I'll ask the questions to some of the experienced players, which can help me definitely in my leadership role," added Patidar.

Rajat Patidar's record with RCB

Patidar has played 27 matches for RCB in the IPL, scoring 799 runs at an average of 34.74 and a strike rate of 158.85. Patidar forms a vital cog in RCB's top order, but how he copes with the added responsibility of captaincy remains to be seen.

In the mega auction, RCB acquired major names such as Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma and Phil Salt. However, the franchise also let go of some major star players, such as Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Siraj.

RCB squad for IPL 2025: Rajat Patidar (Captain), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee