Virender Sehwag summed up new RCB skipper Rajat Patidar’s situation aptly. During the IPL 2025 opener between KKR and RCB, he said, “Virat Kohli is the Sachin Tendulkar of this RCB team. If he says something, no one can refuse him. Everyone will listen to him, even the captain.”
Rajat Patidar Ordinary in 1st Match as Captain
The fans just knew before hand, that it would be Kohli who would call the shots and that is exactly what happened at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. Right from the start, Patidar, unfortunately looked a bit nervous on his first captaincy assignment for the franchise, where he struggled to recall his team makeup at the toss, and then was marred by questionable decisions.
Virat Kohli & Rajat Patidar having a chat during overs.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 22, 2025pic.twitter.com/oxyMDsDPyY
The RCB playing XI on the night didn’t look too impressive either, where Patidar might have had a fair say — did not include the likes of Devdutt Padikkal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Instead, Tim David and Rasikh Salam Dar were picked. And the damage was already done here. With rather inadequate resources, RCB, despite getting a wicket early, gave KKR a chance to bounce back, and gave them a chance to be 60/1 after 6 overs.
Virat Kohli Steps Up Again, But Onus on New Leader
The broadcaster too just knew, it was Virat Kohli who was the leader and given that much camera time too. That was the case with field placements too; after Narine and Rahane started punishing the RCB bowlers, the 36-year-old swiftly swung into action and started marshalling the troops. Even during the break at the powerplay, it looked like Andy Flower and Dinesh Karthik were having a conversation with Kohli rather than Patidar.
Yes, there are bound to be butterflies in the stomach, but then there isn’t much margin for error in these IPL games. In the first 5 overs, as many as four bowlers were used, that only raised further doubts over his tactical acumen. Look, understandably it is all to early to call — the same was even said for Ruturaj Gaikwad, when he took over CSK’s captaincy from MS Dhoni, but the onus is on Rajat Patidar to take over the reigns of the team ASAP. Or else, it could be a bad season for RCB again.
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