Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s decision to appoint Rajat Patidar as captain after the IPL 2025 mega auction came as a surprise to many. The move has paid dividends, with Patidar leading RCB to their first IPL title in 2025, and then going back-to-back in 2026. Patidar had only recently started captaining his domestic side, and would have to handle personalities like Virat Kohli in the dressing room. However, Kohli – undoubtedly the greatest figure in RCB’s history – backed Patidar’s appointment as captain right from the start.
You don’t need anyone else’s support,” Patidar said in an interview with Sports Launchpad , as quoted by Hindustan Times. “If your idol backs you, then you don’t need anything more.
The successes of 2025 and 2026 has put the current RCB crop among conversations of being the greatest-ever IPL team. They’ll be aiming to become the first team to win three titles in a row in 2027. “It is not easy to hand someone the RCB captaincy, considering the fans and the expectations. He must have seen something in me. I don’t know what, but I have received a lot of support from him in the team, as a player and as a captain,” Patidar elaborated.
