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Royal Challengers Bangalore has put an end to the major speculation regarding who will take over the captaincy of the franchise. Fans already expected Virat Kohli to resume the role when he was retained by the team. RCB has announced Rajat Patidar as their next skipper.
After the mega auction, rumors of Virat Kohli taking up the captaincy spread like wildfire. To end the speculation, the franchise bosses resisted the temptation and went with Patidar. The decision reflected the longer-term vision of the franchise.
RCB’s new recruit, Jitesh Sharma, who was bought in the auction for INR 11 crore, made a blunt statement in an interview when asked why Kohli wasn’t given the captaincy responsibility.
Kohli’s Captaincy Days Are Officially On ‘Pause’—Patidar Takes The Lead!
In a recent episode of the CricXtasy podcast, RCB’s new recruit, Jitesh Sharma, was asked a series of questions that revealed some insider details.
The first question was about whether he knew about the captaincy decision or not. He said that though the official communication came to him while the news was made public. “I got to know about Rajat Patidar becoming the captain when everyone else got to know. But when you have been around the game for a while, you understand the flow of things. Virat bhai did not want to captain the side,” Jitesh revealed.
When asked for the reasons behind Kohli not taking up the captaincy role, Jitesh said “I don’t know why he did not want to be captain. I am not in the management side of things; when I am, I will let you know. But he has not been captaining in the last 2-3 years, so it felt that he would not do it this year as well. So, I think Rajat was the best option.”
“Rajat definitely deserves the captaincy. He has given his services to RCB for so many years. I have played a lot of cricket with Rajat. I would definitely help him with the captaincy,” concluded Jitesh.
RCB has completely made a new line-up for this season. creating a hush-hush in the fans, with a higher the expectation.
Here Is The Full Squad Of RCB
Virat Kohli (India) | Rajat Patidar (India) | Yash Dayal (India) | Josh Hazlewood (Australia) | Phil Salt (England) | Jitesh Sharma (India) | Bhuvneshwar Kumar (India) | Liam Livingstone (England) | Rasikh Dar (India) | Krunal Pandya (India) | Suyash Sharma (India) | Jacob Bethell (England) | Tim David (Australia) | Devdutt Padikkal (India) | Romario Shepherd (West Indies) | Nuwan Thushara (Sri Lanka) | Lungi Ngidi (South Africa) | Swapnil Singh (India) | Manoj Bhandage (India) | Swastik Chikara (India) | Abhinandan Singh (India) | Mohit Rathee (India)
RCB team director Mo Bobat revealed during the event, that Virat Kohli was considered for the leadership role. Head coach Andy Flower also disclosed the conversation he had with Virat Kohli prior to the event.
“In our discussions with Virat, I thought the integrity and maturity he showed as a man in our discussions regarding the subject, is what I had expected. I really enjoyed talking with him, one of the things that stood out was the energy and passion that he is looking forward to this IPL with. He obviously likes Rajat, respects Rajat both as a person and a player. I think that relationship will be very important and I think you saw in the video earlier, the authenticity with which he spoke. I have a lot of respect for Virat. My experience with him last season, in the first half we were struggling, he was exceptional in changing the fortunes. That experience with him last season only made my respect for him grow,” he said
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