IPL 2025 Countdown | Can Patidar beat the odds and take RCB to the promised land?

Untested Rajat Patidar leads RCB in IPL 2025, facing challenges with a new squad and injury concerns.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sprang a surprise when untested Rajat Patidar was named as the captain for IPL 2025. And thus a new era begins for a franchise which has seen seven captains in the past — from Rahul Dravid, Kevin Pietersen, Anil Kumble all the way to Faf du Plessis.

Patidar, who became the Madhya Pradesh skipper just last year, now faces the unenviable task of guiding RCB to a maiden IPL trophy.

For starters, Patidar needs to assert his authority and win his teammates over quickly, given that RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat muddied the waters by insisting that superstar Virat Kohli “doesn’t need a captaincy title to lead”.

Patidar will also need to extract the best out of a squad which is far from perfect. There is good news in the top of the batting order, with the signing of a fearless stroke player in Phil Salt.

The Englishman can do serious damage in the PowerPlay, and is well suited to make up for his more sedate opening partner, Kohli.

Patidar, a consistent run-maker, holds the key in the middle-order. Liam Livingstone, another new signing, is around to provide acceleration at number four.

The finisher roles, for some time a weak link for RCB, will be donned by Tim David, Krunal Pandya and Jitesh Sharma. David returns to a team he represented in the 2021 season, where he featured in just one game.