RCB Captain Announcement IPL 2025 Live Updates: Will Virat Kohli replace Faf du Plessis as Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s captain? or Will it be Rajat Patidar?
RCB Captain Announcement IPL 2025 Live Updates:
Will Virat Kohli return as captain after four years, or will a new young talent step up? The wait is finally over! Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will announce their new captain for IPL 2025 today (Thursday, February 13). The announcement will be made at a press conference scheduled for 11:30 am. RCB’s Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat, and head coach, Andy Flower, are expected to reveal the decision.
RCB decided to part ways with Faf du Plessis, who captained the team for three years from 2022 to 2024. While Faf did not win the IPL trophy for RCB, he performed well as both a batter and a leader. However, with Faf turning 41 this July, RCB decided to look for a younger captain. Delhi Capitals picked up Faf at his base price of ₹2 crore in the recent auction.
RCB added several big names to their squad this year, including Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, and Phil Salt. However, none of them seem like clear choices for the captaincy. This has led to growing speculation about Virat Kohli returning as RCB’s captain.
Virat Kohli previously led RCB from 2013 to 2021, playing 143 matches as captain, with 68 wins and 70 losses. Under his leadership, RCB reached the IPL final in 2016, where Kohli had an unforgettable season, scoring 973 runs—the highest in a single IPL season. Even last year, in IPL 2024, Kohli was RCB’s top performer, scoring 741 runs with a strike rate of 154. Despite stepping down as captain, Kohli remains one of the fittest and most consistent players at 38 years of age.
But the big question is, will Kohli agree to take on the leadership role again? Kohli stepped down from captaincy for both RCB and India to focus on reducing his workload. Recently, he also refused to captain Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. Speaking on The RCB Podcast, Kohli said, “I don’t hold onto things longer than I should. Even if I know I can do more, if I don’t enjoy the process, I won’t do it.”
If not Kohli, who could lead RCB? One name being discussed is Rajat Patidar. Patidar, one of RCB’s retained players, has experience as a captain. He has led Madhya Pradesh in tournaments like the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, even guiding them to the SMAT final. Patidar had an outstanding season, scoring 428 runs in 10 matches with a strike rate of 186.08, making him a potential option for RCB’s new captain.
Stay tuned for the official announcement!
