13 February,2025 01:24 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Rajat Patidar (Pic: X/@RCBTweets)
The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) named Rajat Patidar as their captain for the upcoming edition. He replaced South Africa's Faf du Plessis who was released from the squad.
The IPL 2025 is all set to kickstart from March 21.
In the IPL 2025 auction, Rajat Patidar was among the players retained by RCB. The batsman has the experience of leading the Madhya Pradesh team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT).
In 2022, Rajat Patidar was signed up by the franchise. He guided Madhya Pradesh to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final where his side lost to Mumbai by five wickets last year.
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"Rajat has the simplicity, (he) cares about the people around him, we have closely seen how he has led Madhya Pradesh, we really liked it," RCB chief coach Andy Flower said at the franchise event to announce Patidar's elevation.
The right-hander was also the second-highest run-getter in the premier domestic T20 tournament, behind Ajinkya Rahane, scoring 428 from 10 matches at an average of 61 and a strike rate of 186.08.
After captaining RCB from 2022 to 2024, the franchise released Faf du Plessis. He will now make his appearance for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2025.
Prior to the announcement on Thursday, there was some speculation about Virat Kohli returning as captain of the franchise. Kohli was the RCB captain from 2013 to 2021 and has a fine record though he could not land them the title.
The 36-year-old led RCB in 143 matches, the second-longest stint as captain after the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings.
He congratulated Rajat Patidar on the appointment.
"Myself and the other team members will be right behind you, Rajat," Kohli said in a video statement shared by the franchise.
"The way you have grown in this franchise and the way you have performed, you've made a place in the hearts of all RCB fans. This is very well deserved," he added.
(With PTI Inputs)
