Rajat Patidar has been named as the new captain for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the upcoming IPL season, IPL 2025.

On Thursday afternoon (February 13), RCB officially announced their new IPL captain, Rajat Patidar. He became the eighth RCB captain out of which he is the fourth Indian. He is the new name of the IPL captain as the 31-year-old has no previous IPL captaincy record. As he was a very dependable batter for the RCB, especially in the last season, the franchise has felt that he would be the perfect choice for the leadership role. 

In 27 IPL matches only playing for the RCB, Patidar scored 799 runs with an average of 34.73 and a strike rate of 158.84. He has recorded one century and seven half-centuries in the tournament history. During the IPL 2022, when RCB faced Lucknow Super Giants, Patidar recorded his first IPL century by scoring 112 not out in 54 balls, which was his second 50+ score in IPL.

In the IPL 2024, Patidar finished as the third-most run-scorer for RCB with 395 runs in 13 innings with an average of 30.38 and a strike rate of 177.13. The right-handed batter hit five half-centuries in that season.

Watch Now: RCB’s Special Tribute Video for Captain Rajat Patidar!

Rajat Patidar-led Madhya Pradesh were runners-up in the latest SMAT edition

Although Patidar is the new name as an IPL captain, he has useful leadership experience as a T20 captain. He has led his domestic T20 team Madhya Pradesh in the 2018-19, 2019-20 (only one match), and most recently 2024-25 seasons. Under his leadership, Madhya Pradesh finished as the runners-up in the latest edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (2024-25).

Rajat Patidar captaincy record

Patidar has experienced 16 matches as a T20 captain, where his team won 12 matches and lost four others. During the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024-25, while his team finished as the runners-up, he scored 428 runs in 10 nine innings (average 61.14 and strike rate 186.08), including five half-centuries, and recorded the second most runs by a captain in a SMAT season history. 

Rajat Patidar as a T20 captain