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Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth shared his thoughts on Royal Challengers Bengaluru choosing Rajat Patidar over Virat Kohli as the franchise’s captain for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Srikkanth feels Kohli must have been taken into full confidence by the team management before arriving at the final decision.
Kohli led RCB in 143 games and tasted success in 66 of them, before exiting the role ahead of the 2022 season. Thereafter, Faf du Plessis led the side in the last three editions, which saw them make it to the playoffs on two occasions.
Ahead of the 2025 season, Virat Kohli was expected to be back in charge of RCB after the departure of du Plessis. It comes on the back of him emerging as the Orange Cap holder in IPL 2024 with 741 runs.
However, the franchise made a shocking announcement that a young batter Patidar will be leading the RCB side in the forthcoming season. Certainly, the decision must have taken into consideration the long-term prospects of the right-hander.
As per Srikkanth, Virat Kohli itself would have declined leadership role to focus on his batting. He then added that Rajat Patidar will enter the IPL 2025 with no pressure to prove himself as a leader.
“I think Virat would have said no to the captaincy. He would have said, ‘I want to focus on batting’. I think all this must have happened in consultation with Virat Kohli,” Srikkanth said.
“Rajat Patidar is a good choice. He has been doing well in the IPL. The good things is he will not have a lot of expectations. When we appointed Dhoni in 2007 as the T20 World Cup captain, not a lot was expected of him and the team. It’s a bit like that…Expectations from Rajat Patidar as a captain are not high. He will take his own calls. He will consult Virat Kohli, who will be a guiding force,” he added.
How Rajat Patidar managed to trump Virat Kohli to become RCB’s leader?
Rajat Patidar made his IPL debut in the 2021 season under the captaincy of Virat Kohli in RCB. He played four games and scored 71 runs. However, he went unsold in the IPL 2022 mega auction.
But, the opportunity banged on the doors of Patidar, when he was called in as an injury replacement for Luvnith Sisodia during the 2022 season. The right-hander made the most of the golden chance to slam 333 runs in eight innings at an exceptional average of 55.50. Notably, he slammed 112* off 54 balls in the Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants to shoot into limelight.
Unfortunately, Patidar missed IPL 2023 due to Achilles Heel injury. In the last edition, he scored 395 runs in 15 games at an average of 30.38, with five fifties. Throughout the season, he displayed his attacking prowess and helped the side to up the ante on most occasions.
Under the captaincy of Rajat Patidar, Madhya Pradesh emerged as the runner-up in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024. Certainly, Patidar’s track record and leadership skills helped him to trump Virat Kohli to become RCB’s new leader.
