Royal Challengers Bangalore chose prominent Indian batsman Rajat Patidar, who guided Madhya Pradesh to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final and scored an unbeaten 81 against Mumbai, despite his team’s defeat.
New Delhi: Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar stated that the Royal Challengers Bangalore chose not to impose pressure on Virat Kohli by reassigning him the captaincy role, which is why he was not reinstated as the team’s leader. Following the release of Faf du Plessis by the franchise, Kohli emerged as the leading candidate for the captaincy, with Rajat Patidar not being considered.
Bangalore chose Patidar, who guided Madhya Pradesh to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final and made an unbeaten score of 81 against Mumbai, despite his team’s loss.
Kohli on Thursday backed the appointment of Patidar as Bengaluru’s new captain, saying that the batter has ‘earned the right to be in this position’ with his consistency and discipline.
“I thought RCB took a very good decision. They didn’t want to put pressure on Virat Kohli by giving him the responsibility of captaincy. When someone is in the nothing-to-lose zone, you must have seen reality shows, when someone is out of the race or singing in his farewell round,” Manjrekar said while speaking on Star Sports.
“I think the best of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in recent times will be seen in this IPL. These two are big brands of Indian cricket, are together in this game,” Manjrekar added.
The 31-year-old Patidar took over from Faf du Plessis, who was let go by the team in 2024. Prior to the major auction in November, he was one of the players retained by Bangalore and has previously captained Madhya Pradesh in both the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20) and the Vijay Hazare Trophy (ODI).
Patidar, who joined the franchise three years ago, led Madhya Pradesh to the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where they were defeated by Mumbai by five wickets in 2024.
RCB is set to kick off their IPL 2025 season against the reigning champions, Kolkata Knight Riders, on Saturday, March 22, at Eden Gardens. This match presents a significant challenge for Patidar, who will be making his debut as the captain of the prominent franchise.
