Virat Kohli ‘empowered’ Rajat Patidar's captaincy enroute to RCB's first IPL title: ‘Brilliant to have Virat’s blessing'

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s success on the pitch in IPL 2025 stemmed as much from a cohesive and quality unit on the field as it did from a well-prepared and cohesive backroom staff. This began with coach Andy Flower and director of cricket Mo Babat — but with the big decision of which player should be given captaincy ahead of the season, it also came down on the shoulders of Rajat Patidar. Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar celebrate lifting the IPL 2025 trophy together.(PTI)

In an interview with Cricbuzz, Babat provided a behind-the-scenes look at what went into the thought of Patidar as captain. It was a decision which followed a lot of speculation regarding whether Virat Kohli might take up the mantle, or if the team might look elsewhere. Ultimately, it was only after the sign off from the RCB and Indian icon that Patidar was given the green light to be the team’s leader.

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“We spoke with Virat and we talked about the fact that Rajat was going to be new to captaincy,” said Babat, speaking of himself and Flower having a frank sit-down conversation with Kohli. “He was going to need all of our help. That's the reality. And Virat said, 'Look, 100%, I'm there to help. It's in all of our interests if Rajat succeeds. Let's give this a go.' So, it's brilliant to have Virat's blessing and his approval because he's an important person and player in our environment.”

Babat also emphasised how important it was for Patidar, as a first-time IPL captain with international stars such as Josh Hazlewood under him, to have the support of Kohli behind him through the season.

“And it was brilliant this year watching Virat support him and be there for him. He empowered him. He let Rajat make his decisions, but he was also on hand with ideas and suggestions on and off,” explained Babat. Kohli and RCB have been a unit for 18 years, and it was a joint long wait that came to an end as they held off Punjab Kings in the final to lift the trophy.

Patidar already in captaincy consideration mid-2024

Babat also gave an illustration of how RCB’s pre-auction planning didn’t include any specific instructions to grab a captain, with the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant in the player pool: “I also didn't want to put ourselves in a position where we go into the auction fixed on a person to buy for captaincy. Because I think that's quite dangerous because you can't control what you get at an auction.”

However, this was a luxury RCB had, as talks of Patidar as Faf du Plessis’ successor began well before the start of the 2025 cycle.

“Actually, if I'm totally honest, the thought on Rajat was even earlier than what people might have thought… I remember being sat with him at practice, and I first spoke to him about captaincy and leadership,” said the Englishman. “I remember asking him whether he had any aspirations to captain or lead, and he was probably a little bit surprised to hear the question, but he said, yes, he does like the idea of leadership and captaincy.”

Patidar went on to lead Madhya Pradesh in the 2025 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to test the waters, but in his first major captaincy role, he stood tall and ensured that RCB got over that final hurdle. In many ways, a match made in heaven.

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