A day before the final retentions of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the rumors flowed around that their poster boy and the former captain of the franchise and India, Virat Kohli, could return to the captaincy position for the team, having missed it for the last three editions of the tournament.
The Times of India (TOI) reported that the Delhi boy is set to return as the captain of the RCB for the first time since 2021 as a gift to the Diwali festival for Bengaluru fans. He was, in fact, the third longest-serving captain of the IPL history with 143 appearances after topper MS Dhoni (226) and Rohit Sharma (158).
When on October 31, the ‘Play Bold’ side announced their retention, the rumors got some life on the back of the three retentions in the form of Kohli, the middle order batter Rajat Patidar, and the left-arm fast bowler Yash Dayal as the uncapped player for INR 5 crore.
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Once Faf du Plessis, their captain of the last three seasons of the event, who led the side to two playoffs, made his way out of the franchise. That means either RCB is prepared to go back to Kohli in a mutual settlement or they need to find someone captaincy material in the mega auction. They can also have Faf back in the mix, using one of their three right-to-match card options.
RCB is yet to decide on Virat Kohli leading them; Keeping all options open
Kohli was retained for a price of INR 21 crore, while Patidar went for a price of INR 11 crore, and that meant they had INR 83 crore left in the purse, which should be enough to have a great leader back in the squad.
As the rumors of Virat coming back to the leadership position went out of the roof, the Director of Cricket for the RCB franchise, Mo Bobat, needed to come and confirm the actual news. However, he kept the speculations alive besides keeping the lips close that, like most of the other teams, they also could be looking for a captain going into the mega auction of the event.
“I am sorry to disappoint everybody listening. We (RCB) have not made any decision related to captaincy or, on that (Kohli returning as skipper) as yet. We are open to options. The only obvious decision we made was not to retain Faf. He did a great job last year and the year before that. So from our perspective, we will keep a very open mind when we head to the auction.” Bobat expressed the interaction with Jio Cinema.
Kohli led the red team in 143 games, out of which 66 appearances came in their favor, while the rest 70 games ended before the finishing line for them at a winning rate of under one.
The RCB head coach, Andy Flower, has touched on the other two retentions apart from Kohli, where the unique left-arm ability of Dayal in swinging the ball in both directions will to the different dimensions of their bowing attack.
“Rajat Patidar is a key member of our squad. His exceptional talent and resilience have already made a significant impact on our team, and he truly embodies the spirit of RCB. We are excited to see him continue to develop and shine in the upcoming season.” The former Zimbabwe player shed light.
The mega auction for the upcoming IPL 2025 is expected to take place in the last week of November or the first week of December.