(From left) RCB Head coach Andy Flower, Director Mo Bobat, Rajat Patidar and COO Rajesh Menon at RCB Press conference in Bengaluru.
Credit: DH Photo/ S K Dinesh
Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bengaluru made a bold call on Thursday, announcing Rajat Patidar as their new captain with the belief that the ‘calm’ but ‘steely’ Madhya Pradesh batter would usher in a new era for the franchise.
When RCB chose not to retain Faf du Plessis, who led the side for three seasons from 2022, and failed to pick captaincy material players like Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul or Shreyas Iyer at the mega auctions last November, one felt the club could go back to the talismanic Virat Kohli -- one of the three retained players -- for a second stint as captain.
The franchise, yet to win a single title, following consultations with Kohli, instead have reposed their faith on Patidar, who joined the three-time runners-up in 2022 as a replacement for the injured Luvnith Sisodia and has become an instant hit since then with his blistering batting at the top of the order.
“There's a calmness and a simplicity to Rajat that I think will stand him in really good stead as a leader and a captain, particularly in the IPL,” said head coach Andy Flower at a press conference here, while gently patting a smiling Patidar.
“As we know, the IPL is one of the premier competitions in the world, and there's pressure involved in that, and I think the calm, simple demeanour that inherently lives within Rajat is going to serve him really well in the hurly-burly tournament."
“His decision-making will be tested, like all of ours is, but I think these qualities will stand him in really good stead. We watched Rajat very closely as he captained Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and we really liked what we saw around those qualities. The thing that stands out for me about him is that he's got a stubbornness, strength and steeliness about him.”
The 31-year-old, who scored 333 runs in just eight games in 2022 and then 395 in 15 games last year after missing out in 2023 owing to a heel injury, said his primary objective would be to create a relaxed environment so that players can go out and express themselves without fear of failure.
“If I talk about my way of captaincy, I'm not that much expressive but at the same time I'm aware of the situation of the matches. So I think for me it's important to back my players and stand with them and give the sort of environment where they feel relaxed and confident,” said Patidar, who guided MP to the Syed Mushtaq final last year in Bengaluru where they lost to Mumbai.
“I'm lucky that I'm surrounded by one of the best people in the team (Kohli), and we have a group of leaders as well where their experience and ideas will definitely help in my new leadership role and growth as an individual also. As a captain, I always back my instinct. But at the same time, I'll ask questions to some of the experienced players, which can help me definitely in my leadership role.”
RCB’s director of cricket Mo Bobat, while hailing Patidar’s ability to deliver under pressure, said the franchise was only looking at an Indian captain.
“So Andy and I felt quite blessed that we had quite a few to choose from – Indian and international. We felt quite strongly that an Indian captain was preferable. That's nothing against any overseas options.
“(IPL is) primarily an Indian competition on Indian pitches against predominantly Indian players. So somebody who's got that local knowledge and insight is really, really helpful for us.”
Bobat also revealed that Kohli’s name was up for discussion but they eventually went with Patidar with an eye on the future.
“Of course, Virat was an option. And I know that the fans would have probably leaned towards Virat in the first instance. But we've seen a lot of love for Rajat too. Look, my point on Virat would be that Virat doesn't need a captaincy title to lead. I think leadership, as we've all seen, is one of his strongest instincts.
"We're pretty sure that Rajat will be leaning on him too. Like us, he (Kohli) knows how deserving Rajat is of this opportunity. He's right behind him and we saw a real sense of energy and excitement from him. Of course, he was an option, but for all the reasons that we've stated about Rajat, this felt like really good timing for us.”
List of RCB captains
Rahul Dravid (2008)
Kevin Pietersen (2009)
Anil Kumble (2009–2010)
Daniel Vettori (2011–2012)
Virat Kohli (2011 stand-in, 2013–2021)
Shane Watson (2017, stand-in)
Faf du Plessis (2022–2024).