Whispers around Virat Kohli’s return as RCB skipper for the 2025 IPL have grown - but what are the other captaincy options in front of the franchise?
After a nine-season stint at the helm of RCB, Virat Kohli stepped down to manage his workload and carve out “some space” ahead of the 2022 season. It came after his resignation as both the T20I and Test captain, while Rohit Sharma replaced him as leader in the ODI side.
Since then, Kohli’s leadership opportunities have been sporadic - he has captained in just three games across formats, aside from his brief stint filling in for injured captains during games, such as stepping in for Bumrah during the SCG Test against Australia. Despite his reduced leadership role, his credentials as a captain remain indisputable, even if his batting form has seen its share of ups and downs of late.
What has Kohli’s IPL form been?
The leading run-scorer in the IPL, Kohli has made 8,004 runs at an average of 38.66 and a strike rate of nearly 132. No other batter has made 7,000 runs.
In 2022, Kohli faced his worst year in the IPL circuit since 2009, as he averaged 22.73 with a strike rate of 115.98. The following season, however, witnessed a resurgence - he averaged 53.25 in 14 games and registered two centuries, albeit with a strike rate of 139.82 that still raised some eyebrows. Last year, he amassed 741 runs at an average of 61.75 with an impressive strike rate of 154.69, the finest in his 17-season IPL career. Only Travis Head made 500 runs and struck at a better strike rate than Kohli in the season.
What has sparked fuels about his leadership return?
The decision by RCB to let go of Faf du Plessis, who captained the side to the knockouts in 2022 and 2024, along with a sixth-place finish in 2023, has further fueled the narrative.
Ahead of the mega-auction, the market was abuzz with names like Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul as potential captaincy contenders. Yet, RCB’s lack of aggressive bidding on these players strongly suggests they already had a premeditated plan about their captain in 2025.
This sentiment was bolstered when AB de Villiers, whose close bond with Kohli is well known, hinted that he would likely lead RCB in the upcoming season.
What other captaincy options do RCB have?
RCB also do not have a standout captaincy candidate in their squad. Among the overseas players available, only Liam Livingstone (22 T20 matches), Phil Salt (10), and Tim David (1) have donned the captain’s hat.
But RCB are not likely to go down this route: The inclusion of an overseas skipper often proves challenging in an XI restricted to four foreigners. If they are struggling for form, replacing them becomes even more challenging, which is also why teams are moving away from having foreign players as captains. Last season, only SRH and RCB had overseas leaders, with both Pat Cummins and du Plessis in fine form. The former will continue to lead, but the latter is already 40 and not a long-term option either.
Among Indian players, Rajat Patidar has led in 16 T20 matches and Devdutt Padikkal in a solitary outing. Krunal Pandya, with 33 matches as skipper, including six in the IPL during 2023, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has led in 17 games - nine for Uttar Pradesh and eight for SRH over four years - are Indian options. But their leadership experience pales in comparison to the brand value that Kohli brings, also falling short of his magnetic influence, be it towards the fans, sponsors or overall market value. If there was any doubt about the kind of pull he has, you just had to be in Delhi to witness his Ranji comeback.
For a franchise built on star power, RCB is synonymous with Kohli. Kohli, already 36, is in the twilight of his career and this could well be the last three-year cycle that he is playing. The team has chosen to maximise his presence, building their brand further while Kohli has decided to give it one final go, perhaps to silence the critics about his magnificent but trophy-less captaincy tenure. There’s nothing to lose for either side.
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