Virat Kohli to become RCB's captain again?

With the news buzzing around Kohli as a captain for RCB, What management said and Will Kohli Lead RCB Again? Here's the Full Picture.

It seems likely that Virat Kohli will once again be seen at the toss in the red and golden jersey in the upcoming IPL season. RCB retained Kohli for ₹21 crore while releasing Faf du Plessis, who captained the team for the last three years. When questioned about Kohli's potential return as captain, the management hinted at interesting possibilities, which we'll explore further. Reports suggest that Kohli has already discussed captaincy with the team management.

After the Auction: Building the New Core for RCB

With the IPL 2025 Auction complete, RCB seems to be building a new core, notably without Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis, and Mohammed Siraj. This raises the pressing question: Who will lead RCB next? The current squad lacks significant captaincy options. The key players include Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Josh Hazelwood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, and the young Devdutt Padikkal. Of these, only Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have brief captaincy experience in the IPL. Making Josh Hazelwood captain seems highly unlikely.

Kohli’s Leadership History: A Decade of Commitment

Kohli has served as Captain for 9 years and in his previous captaincy tenure from 2013 to 2021, he led RCB in 140 matches, third-longest serving captain in IPL history, Four playoff appearances and one final appearance in 2016. Out of 140 matches, the team won 64 matches and 7 without results,maintaining a win percentage of 45.71%. Kohli stepped down as RCB's captain after the 2021 IPL season to focus solely on his batting, following a tenure from 2013 to 2021 as captain.

In terms of batting, Kohli is one of the greatest players, RCB's highest run-scorer, and the IPL's all-time leading run-getter with 8,004 runs. In 2024, he delivered an outstanding personal performance, scoring 741 runs in the season. Kohli remains a central figure and the most experienced player in the team. Even when not captaining, he is often seen contributing to the leadership group on the field. His recent experience with India's ICC T20 World Cup victory further adds to his credentials.

Management's Stance: An Open Mind on Leadership

Overall it looks obvious he would become the captain unless something very unexpected decision management or Kohli takes.But when this question was asked to RCB's Director of cricket Mo Bobat before the auction, he answered:

“I am sorry to disappoint everybody listening. We have not made any decision related to captaincy or on that (Kohli returning as skipper) as yet. We are open to options. The only obvious decision we made was not to retain Faf. He did a great job last year and the year before that. So from our perspective, we will keep a very open mind when we head to the auction.”

The Likely Outcome: Will Kohli Return as Captain

Since RCB did not pick up any clear captaincy candidate in the auction, it seems likely that Kohli will take up the role once again. 

We will provide further updates as the situation unfolds. Stay tuned for more insights.