Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be one of the few teams that will have a new captain in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) after their decision to not retain Faf du Plessis nor use the Right to Match (RTM) card on the South African star after Delhi Capitals (DC) purchased him for Rs. 2 crore in the mega auction.
There is a major expectation that RCB will target either Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, or KL Rahul in the auction as they look for a new captain. With the franchise purchasing neither of the three players, the captaincy conundrum has only grown.
Ab de Villiers Confirms New RCB Captain
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RCB legend Ab de Villiers all but confirmed rumours that Virat Kohli will lead the franchise in the new season. If the development is confirmed, Kohli will return as captain after a three-year hiatus. Kohli captained RCB on a full-time basis from 2013 to 2021. The 36-year-old also captained the franchise in three matches in 2023 when Faf was injured and played as an impact sub.
Kohli stepped down after the 2021 season and announced the decision just days after he confirmed he would resign as India's T20I captain after the 2021 T20 World Cup.
"Virat Kohli, I don't think it has been confirmed yet but he will be captain looking at the squad," said de Villiers on his Youtube channel.
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Overall, Kohli has led RCB in 143 matches, out of which he won 66 matches and lost 70. Kohli led RCB to their last final in 2016.
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The 2025 season will mark Kohli extending his record as the only player in history to play all 18 seasons of the league for the same team.
While RCB surprised the cricket fraternity by not using the RTM card on either Faf, Mohammed Siraj, Glenn Maxwell, or Will Jacks, they have assembled a talented squad with the signing of Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Josh Hazlewood.