Kris Srikkanth With Virat Kohli (Source: @KrisSrikkanth/x.com)
The Indian Premier League is still a month away but the excitement is touching the sky already. However, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s captaincy announcement left fans disappointed as their hopes of seeing Virat Kohli lead the team were shattered once again.
Despite the disappointment, the RCB fans welcomed their new captain Rajat Patidar. Amid the buzz, former Indian cricketer Kris Srikkanth thinks that Kohli might have turned down the captaincy to prioritize his batting.
Srikkanth Believes Kohli Declined Captaincy To Focus On Batting
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru is always fans favorite and captain Virat Kohli is an emotion to all the fans. After Faf du Plessis moved out to Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2025 mega-auction, fans were anticipating Kohli’s comeback as RCB’s skipper once again.
The dream was dashed again as the franchise named Rajat Patidar as their captain. As fans are a little heartbroken, former cricketer Kris Srikkanth believes this was Kohli’s own decision, choosing to step away from captaincy to focus entirely on his batting.
“I think Virat would have said no to the captaincy. He would have said 'I want to focus on batting'. I think all this must have happened in consultation with Virat Kohli.” Srikkanth said.
Srikkanth On Patidar’s New Role
The Madhya Pradesh batter, who impressed with stellar domestic performances, led his team to the Syed Mushtaq Ali final, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer with 428 runs at an average of 61.14. Now stepping onto a bigger stage, Patidar faces fresh challenges as RCB’s captain. But Srikkanth believes Kohli’s presence will be a huge advantage for him.
“Rajat Patidar is a good choice. He has been doing well in the IPL. The good things is he will not have a lot of expectations. When we appointed Dhoni in 2007 as the T20 World Cup captain, not a lot was expected of him and the team. It's a bit like that...Expectations from Rajat Patidar as a captain are not high. He will take his own calls. He will consult Virat Kohli, who will be a guiding force.” Srikkanth said.
With a new beginning in his career, Rajat Patidar entered the elite list and became the eighth captain to lead the team in the cash-rich league. As the team is yet to win the prestigious IPL trophy, fans are anticipating a successful outing under the new captain.
 "Poulomi Chakraborty")
