The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) brought an end to captaincy suspense at the franchise ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, naming Rajat Patidar as the skipper of the team. Rumours of Virat Kohli taking up the role once again made rounds on the internet since the mega auction concluded but the franchise’s bosses resisted the temptation and went with Patidar, probably keeping a longer-term vision in mind. RCB’s new recruit, Jitesh Sharma, who was bought in the auction for INR 11 crore, dropped a blunt statement in an interview when asked why Kohli wasn’t given the captaincy responsibility.
During a CricXtasy podcast, Jitesh was asked if he knew about the franchise’s captaincy decision beforehand. He said that though the official communication came to him while the news was made public, he understood that Kohli will not be becoming the captain again after seeing what was happening in the background.
“I got to know about Rajat Patidar becoming the captain when everyone else got to know. But when you have been around the game for a while, you understand the flow of things. Virat bhai did not want to captain the side,” Jitesh revealed.
When asked for the reasons behind Kohli not taking up the captaincy role, Jitesh said he isn’t aware of the exact reason but the trend over the last 2-3 seasons all but confirmed that captaincy days are behind the India star.
“I don’t know why he did not want to be captain. I am not in the management side of things; when I am, I will let you know. But he has not been captaining in the last 2-3 years, so it felt that he would not do it this year as well. So, I think Rajat was the best option,” he added.
During the captaincy announcement event, RCB team director Mo Bobat revealed that Virat was considered for the leadership role. The franchise’s head coach Andy Flower then revealed the conversation he had with Kohli over the topic.
“In our discussions with Virat, I thought the integrity and maturity he showed as a man in our discussions regarding the subject, is what I had expected. I really enjoyed talking with him, one of the things that stood out was the energy and passion that he is looking forward to this IPL with. He obviously likes Rajat, respects Rajat both as a person and a player. I think that relationship will be very important and I think you saw in the video earlier, the authenticity with which he spoke. I have a lot of respect for Virat. My experience with him last season, in the first half we were struggling, he was exceptional in changing the fortunes. That experience with him last season only made my respect for him grow,” he said.
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