Virat Kohli sure Rajat Patidar will be RCB captain “for a long time”

Kohli has won 66 matches for RCB; the other six skippers combined have got just 62 wins to their name.

No one has led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in more matches than Virat Kohli. Although he decided to step down as RCB’s captain after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season, Kohli remains the heart and soul of the franchise. Whoever has become RCB’s skipper since has lived in Kohli’s shadow.

Rajat Patidar will lead RCB for long, reckons Virat Kohli

However, he continues being a leader. He was Faf du Plessis’ aide in the 2022 to 2024 seasons. And will guide new RCB captain Rajat Patidar in the coming years as well. Patidar, who is 31, will be the longer-term captain. That’s what Kohli believes. There isn’t a chance that the RCB management didn’t consult Kohli before making Patidar the face of the franchise.

And the former skipper believes that Patidar will be RCB’s captain for a long time. Perhaps not as long as Kohli, who was the skipper from 2013 to 2021, but maybe the next longest-standing leader after him.

“The guy who is going to come next is the guy who’s going to lead you for a long time. So, give him all the love you can. He’s an amazing talent; he’s a great player; we have all seen that. He has got a great head on his shoulders, and he will do a great job for this amazing franchise and take the team forward. He has got everything that’s required,” Kohli said during RCB’s unboxing event at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

RCB squad for IPL 2025

Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (c), Yash Dayal, Liam Livingstone ✈️, Phil Salt ✈️, Jitesh Sharma (wk), 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