Rajat Patidar during an IPL 2024 match between RCB and Chennai Super Kings.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: K. BHAGYA PRAKASH
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sprang a surprise when untested Rajat Patidar was named as the captain for IPL 2025. And thus a new era begins for a franchise which has seen seven captains in the past — from Rahul Dravid, Kevin Pietersen, Anil Kumble all the way to Faf du Plessis.
Patidar, who became the Madhya Pradesh skipper just last year, now faces the unenviable task of guiding RCB to a maiden IPL trophy.
For starters, Patidar needs to assert his authority and win his teammates over quickly, given that RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat muddied the waters by insisting that superstar Virat Kohli “doesn’t need a captaincy title to lead”.
Patidar will also need to extract the best out of a squad which is far from perfect. There is good news in the top of the batting order, with the signing of a fearless stroke player in Phil Salt.
The Englishman can do serious damage in the PowerPlay, and is well suited to make up for his more sedate opening partner, Kohli.
Patidar, a consistent run-maker, holds the key in the middle-order. Liam Livingstone, another new signing, is around to provide acceleration at number four.
Weak links
The finisher roles, for some time a weak link for RCB, will be donned by Tim David, Krunal Pandya and Jitesh Sharma. David returns to a team he represented in the 2021 season, where he featured in just one game.
Wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh impressed for Punjab Kings in IPL 2022 and 2023, but underperformed in the last edition. The spin unit, so crucial to T20 success, appears thread bare.
Experienced left-arm spinner Krunal is forced to take the lead, even if his best days are behind him. Suyash Sharma, who picked three wickets in his IPL debut two years ago against RCB, is the only other recognised spinner.
The pace load will be handled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal. The trio is a handful with the new ball, but is far from efficient in the death overs.
There are injury concerns as well, with the availability of Hazlewood and explosive Jacob Bethell under a cloud.
Published – March 12, 2025 12:28 am IST
Content Source: www.thehindu.com