Royal Challengers Bengaluru are expected to announce their new IPL captain on Thursday, February 12. Faf du Plessis, who has led the team for the last three years, has been released, and recently, the name of Virat Kohli has made rounds as one possible candidate for the captaincy in the next edition of IPL. Likewise, the team management has also talked about Rajat Patidar.
The franchise reportedly talked to Kohli about a possible return to captaincy, but it is unclear if Cool headed Kohli would accept the position. He had captained RCB for an unbroken duration from 2013 to 2021, when he resigned from the captaincy. Patidar is currently captain of Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the RCB management appreciates his leadership potential.
Meanwhile, Krunal Pandya’s name has also emerged as one of the candidates for the next season. Just in terms of IPL quotes, Pandya has excellent captaincy skill, as he has done a terrific job for Baroda in domestic cricket, the franchise reported to Times of India. They bought Krunal for INR 5.75 crore during the mega auction for IPL 2025, and he could be a bit of a surprise pick for captaincy in the next season.
The franchise has called a special media announcement for February 12, with key officials, including Director of Cricket Mo Bobat and head coach Andy Flower, expected to be present.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Final Squad for IPL 2025:
Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Yash Dayal, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Lungi Ngidi, Swastik Chikkara, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee
