Royal Challengers Bengaluru‘s new captain Rajat Patidar shared his emotional journey from being rejected at the 2022 IPL mega auction to being handed the team’s captaincy by Virat Kohli for IPL 2025. Speaking on the RCB Podcast, the 31-year-old described the surreal moment of receiving the captaincy plaque from Kohli and discussed his path to leadership of the franchise still seeking its first IPL title.Patidar revealed his initial disappointment when he wasn’t selected at the 2022 mega auction despite receiving prior assurance from RCB management.“I had got a message that you be ready… that we will pick you. I had a little hope that I will get another chance. But I wasn’t picked in the mega auction. I was a little sad,” Patidar said.He then detailed his journey after the auction rejection and subsequent inclusion as a replacement player.“I started playing in my local matches in Indore. Then, I got a call that ‘we are picking you as a replacement for Luvnith Sisodia’, who was injured. To tell you frankly, I didn’t want to come as a replacement because I knew that I wouldn’t get a chance to play there, and I always feel that I don’t want to sit there. I wasn’t angry. It was like, if they didn’t pick me, then I won’t get it. I was angry for a while, but then I was normal,” Patidar explained.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?The appointment of Patidar as captain for IPL 2025 came as a surprise amid speculation about leadership transition at RCB.Patidar addressed questions about leading a team with established players like Kohli.
Poll
How significant is Virat Kohli’s support for Patidar’s leadership?
“I had a lot of questions like, there are so many big players in the team. Virat Kohli is such a big player, how will you do it under him. I know how supportive he is about this. I knew I have his full support. Like I said, this is a learning for me, it’s an opportunity for me. So, I will learn as much as I can from him. Because no one has the experience and ideas that he has in every role — be it batting, as an individual and as a captain. I have seen him since I started watching TV — in the IPL, off the field, in the Indian team. To take that thing from him… it was very special,” he said.
Patidar recalled the moment Kohli handed him the captaincy plaque.“When he was giving it to me, I didn’t know how to react. I held it, looked at him, and asked myself, ‘What should I do now?’ Then he said, ‘You deserve it, you earned it.’ That calmed me down,” he shared.Patidar has demonstrated his leadership capabilities by winning 8 out of 11 matches this season while contributing 239 runs in the middle order.He entered IPL 2025 with recent captaincy experience, having led Madhya Pradesh to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final.
