Rajat Patidar has been appointed as the new captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of IPL 2025. Ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction, RCB released Faf du Plessis and therefore, they've chosen Patidar to lead the franchise into a new era. Rajat captains Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket and has a 50% win percentage in T20 cricket as skipper. He becomes the fourth Indian captain of RCB, 8th overall. Before Patidar, Virat, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid had led the franchise. There were speculations over Virat Kohli's return as captain of RCB, but those were quashed as soon as the franchise hosted a presser and announced the update via a press conference. Virat Kohli's special message for Rajat Patidar The Bengaluru-based franchise shared a video of Kohli wishing his new skipper well. Virat said that the entire dressing room will be behind the newly appointed captain. "Want to congratulate you, you have made a place in the hearts of all the fans. We will be right behind you, it's a big responsibility to be seen as the guy who will take the franchise forward. You have earned the right to be in this position," said Virat. 'Virat Kohli doesn't need captaincy to show his leadership' Patidar, who joined the franchise in 2021, was later released and then was picked up again as a replacement before showing his class. RCB's Director of Cricket, Mo Bobat confirmed that Kohli was indeed an option for captaincy, but insisted that he would help groom Patidar as a better leader. "Virat Kohli doesn't need the captaincy tag to show his leadership," said Mo Bobat while confirming that indeed the 36-year-old was an option for captaincy. Rajat Patidar looking forward to Virat Kohli's advice Having shared the RCB dressing room together for a while, Patidar said that he would look forward to advice from the former captain. "I think it's a great opportunity to learn from one of the best in the game, his experience will definitely help in leadership, I know him very well, his experience and ideas will help," said Patidar.Original Article