Virat Kohli is all set to return as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain from the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It’s understood that Kohli has already had discussions with the administration and needs to step up at a time when there’s a management vacuum within the RCB camp.
Faf du Plessis, 40, led the franchise within the final cycle (2022-24) however with age not on his aspect, Kohli will return with the armband for the brand new cycle.
#IPL 2025: Who will lead RCB this 12 months? Virat Kohli might properly take it again!
The franchise has by no means received an IPL trophy and with the mega public sale lower than a month away, they’ve put the management piece in place and would now hope to fill within the essential blanks when the bidding conflict begins.
Kohli led RCB from 2013 to 2021 and the aspect reached the playoffs on 4 events, and got here agonisingly near profitable the title in 2016, the place they misplaced to Sunrisers Hyderabad within the last.
The 35-year-old had stepped down from RCB captaincy in 2021, days after saying his resolution to go away India’s T20I management position as properly, however reiterated that he’ll play his final IPL sport for the franchise solely and has by no means had ideas of shifting base.
“I’ll proceed to be an RCB participant until I play my final sport within the IPL. However it’s been an excellent journey of 9 years of pleasure, frustration, moments of happiness and disappointment, and I simply need to thank all of you from the underside of my coronary heart for supporting me and believing in me relentlessly and unconditionally.
“And I’ll proceed to be dedicated to play for this franchise as I stated until the final day of me enjoying IPL… for you guys, for the followers, due to what you have accomplished for me and the way you have made me really feel over the past so a few years that’s going to stick with me for the remainder of my life,” Kohli had stated three years in the past.
Even with out the official armband, Kohli has been the defacto chief within the setup and there wasn’t a second within the final three years the place he appeared switched off or casually fielding within the deep. He was all the time 100% concerned and was often in captain Du Plessis’ ear throughout crunch conditions.
RCB have been wanting elsewhere for captaincy choices, too, however felt Kohli was the best man to take the crew ahead within the cash-rich league.
It’s understood that Shubman Gill was on their radar and the franchise desperately needed him on board however it did not materialise, and there’s a robust risk of them going after Rishabh Pant on the mega public sale too.
Kohli the captain, Kohli the participant have unfinished enterprise within the IPL and it stays to be seen whether or not 2025 could possibly be that 12 months.
