Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has warned Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar that leading the franchise won’t be an easy job. The MP batter was named as Faf du Plessis’ successor ahead of IPL 2025. Patidar will enter the tournament with a lot of weight on his shoulders as RCB hunt for their maiden IPL title.
Leading RCB tougher than India captain job: Harbhajan
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Harbhajan said that captaining RCB will be a challenge for Patidar, noting that it won’t be easy for him to take decisions. Adding that he hasn’t led a side before, Singh claimed that leading an IPL franchise was tougher than being the India captain.
“For someone like Patidar, it will be a huge challenge. To captain a big team like that, it’s not going to be easy to take decisions. He hasn’t led a side before. People think leading India is the most difficult thing, but I think it’s even tougher leading a franchise, because I have done it,” Harbhajan said.
Further, Harbhajan said that Patidar will enter IPL 2025 with the enormous pressure of expectations. He stressed that the batter would need to focus on his form as well as on the team’s performance. Singh said that while Rajat has been named captain for the upcoming seasons, it remains to be seen what would happen should RCB fail in IPL 2025.
“Patidar has the pressure of expectations because they haven’t won a single season. You have to live up to it, and play your own game, too. Everything revolves around Virat Kohli there. He also has to ensure that he has a good season. RCB have appointed Patidar for five seasons, but if this one doesn’t go well, we will see where he will stand,” he added.
Patidar was named captain after Virat Kohli refused to take over the reins of the team once again.
