Fortunately, RCB have several captaincy candidates from the squad assembled after the auction.
After releasing Faf du Plessis before the IPL 2025 auction, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) didn’t get him back. While they bought a few quality players during the auction, RCB still haven’t decided on their captain but have several options to make their captains.
There have been reports about Virat Kohli being re-introduced as RCB captain, and several publications have reported it. However, there’s no clarity on whether he will accept the offer to come to the helm again.
There are multiple reasons why Virat Kohli shouldn’t return as RCB captain from IPL 2025. Firstly, Kohli himself left the captaincy and is unlikely to accept returning to the helm again at this stage of his career.
When Kohli left captaincy from all formats and IPL, he made his intentions clear he wanted to focus on his batting. He has reaped ample success after leaving the captaincy, and with age not on his side, Kohli might not agree to take up the role again.
Now that he has given up T20Is, IPL is his only source of T20 cricket, and he would not want to burden it. Further, RCB have tried Kohli as a captain for an extended period, but the results haven’t been desired, even though they have done well in patches, so point going back to him.
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Fortunately, RCB have several captaincy candidates from the squad assembled after the auction. Many have played ample T20 cricket and possess vast experience, so RCB can pick any of them to lead the side.
Rajat Patidar, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the players with experience leading a T20 side. Some have led in the IPL, a few in local tournaments, while some have also captained their national side.
The likes of Krunal and Bhuvneshwar have captained the IPL, Rajat is the leader of his domestic side Madhya Pradesh in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and Salt and Livingstone have led England in white-ball cricket.
So, the options are aplenty, but the question remains the same. Who is the ideal candidate among them to take over in the next season?
The two best options to lead RCB in IPL 2025 are Rajat Patidar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar for several reasons. Apart from being adept at their role, both have shown tactical acumen and superior awareness in the shortest format.
Rajat Patidar’s best format is T20s, and he would have gained good experience by leading Madhya Pradesh in the local tournament. Further, he will remain with them for a long time and will be a long-term investment as a leader, which would provide solidity to the group.
Meanwhile, Bhuvneshwar Kumar brings ample experience playing the league and has a proven track record. He knows how the T20 format works and understands its nuances, and his previous experience leading in the league goes in his favour.
He has led an IPL time eight times in his IPL career. Overall, in T20 cricket, Bhuvneshwar has led 15 times in T20s.
Hence, these two are the best options for RCB to lead them from the next season. Their credentials are stronger than other players in the team, and they are more equipped to handle players and the team.
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