Virat Kohli is for his 18th IPL season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as he has been retained for a huge sum of Rs 21 crore. There was never a doubt over Virat's future with RCB and he has also got a pay raise. Apart from Virat, RCB have retained Yash Dayal and Rajat Patidar. RCB have retained their captain Faf du Plessis.
Virat joined RCB in the pre-season draft before IPL 2008. Ahead of the IPL 2011 mega-auction, he was the only player that RCB retained. Virat was retained by RCB before the IPL 2014, 2018 and 2022 mega-auctions. Once again, he was RCB's first-choice retention and will have a huge salary of Rs 21 crore.
There were doubts over Faf du Plessis' future with RCB and he will be back in the auction once again. The IPL veteran joined RCB in the IPL 2022 mega-auction and led them in three seasons. While RCB made it to the second round of IPL 2022 and 2024, they didn't play an IPL final under du Plessis.
The former South Africa captain turned 40 in July and with an eye on the future, RCB will look for another captain. There are also reports that Virat could return as RCB's captain in IPL 2025.
Yash Dayal, Rajat Patidar to stay
Yash Dayal and Rajat Patidar will stay at RCB. Yash, who has been part of the Test squad, has been retained for Rs 5 crore. He is yet to play international cricket. Yash will travel to South Africa with the T20I squad.
Rajat has been retained for Rs 11 crore. He is capped in international cricket and has played Test and ODI cricket. Though the right-handed batsman isn't in contention to make his return. RCB will have three Right to Match (RTM) cards in the auction. The IPL 2025 mega-auction is likely to take place outside India in November.