'I told Mo before captaining RCB...': Patidar reveals leadership talks with team director

IANS February 13, 2025 432 views

Rajat Patidar has been appointed as the new captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, taking over from Faf du Plessis for the upcoming IPL season. His captaincy approach focuses on creating a supportive environment for players and learning from experienced teammates like Virat Kohli. Patidar previously captained the Madhya Pradesh state team and sees this as a significant opportunity for personal and team growth. With his impressive performance in recent seasons, he brings both skill and leadership potential to the role.

"It's a great opportunity for me to learn from one of the best of cricket (Kohli)." - Rajat Patidar
'I told Mo before captaining RCB...': Patidar reveals leadership talks with team director
Bengaluru, Feb 13: Newly appointed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Rajat Patidar revealed how he reacted when he was first asked to captain the franchise and said that he told the Director of Cricket Mo Bapat that before leading RCB, he'd like to have the captaincy of the state (Madhya Pradesh) team.

Key Points

1

Patidar succeeds Faf du Plessis as RCB captain

2

Discussed leadership with Mo Bapat before accepting role

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Aims to create confident team environment

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Experienced leading Madhya Pradesh teams

Patidar was named the franchise's new captain ahead of IPL 2025 in an event on Thursday. He will take over the role from Faf du Plessis, who captained the team for three seasons from 2022 to 2024.

When asked about his captaincy style, Patidar, who was one of RCB's three retentions apart from Virat Kohli and Yash Dayal, said, "If I talk about my way of captaincy, I'm not that expressive, but at the same time I'm aware of the situation of the matches. For me, it's important to back my players and stand with them and give the sort of environment where they feel relaxed and confident.

"We have a group of leaders, where their experience and ideas will definitely help in my new leadership role, and grow as an individual also."

The right-hander has now joined a star-studded list of RCB captains from the past, one that includes the likes of Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, Anil Kumble, Kevin Pietersen, Daniel Vettori, Kohli and Faf du Plessis.

When asked how he would look up to Kohli as far as captaincy is concerned, Patidar said, "It's a great opportunity for me to learn from one of the best of cricket (Kohli). I think his ideas and experience will definitely help me in my leadership role. I've done a lot of partnerships with him. I know him very well."

Sharing about his reaction when he was asked to captain the franchise, Patidar mentioned that he had a feeling either he or Kohli would be leading the team when Mo asked if he was interested in taking a captaincy role.

"Last year, I think it was me and Mo who spoke about it (captaincy). Mo asked me, are you interested in doing captaincy? I told him that before doing the captaincy of RCB, I'd like to have the captaincy of the state team.

Patidar has captained his state Madhya Pradesh in the 2024-25 seasons of the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.

"So, I got a hint from there that I could get the captaincy. So when I got the information that either Virat or myself could do the captaincy, I was very happy about it," he added.

Patidar, who came into RCB as an injury replacement player in IPL 2021, has scored 799 runs in 27 matches at a strike rate of 158.85. IPL 2024 was particularly a fantastic season for him, who smashed 395 runs from 15 matches, including five half-centuries at a strike rate of 177.13.

Tags:
IPL 2025 RCB Rajat Patidar Virat Kohli Cricket Captaincy Royal Challengers Bengaluru
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