Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra feels Royal Challengers Bengaluru has made their mind to go back to Virat Kohli as a leader for IPL 2025 after not picking any captaincy candidates in the mega auction. RCB had retained Kohli for INR 21 crore before the auction and it has been reported that he is all set to return as captain.
RCB also didn’t retain Faf du Plessis, who led them in the last three seasons. Kohli had relinquished his leadership duties after IPL 2021 and he will look to lead from the front in the next season, assuming he is given the captaincy onus.
“Isn’t it confirmed now that Kohli will be the captain? Shreyas Iyer isn’t there. They didn’t take Rishabh Pant. They didn’t take KL Rahul as well. They were the captaincy candidates. They didn’t take Faf du Plessis as well,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“When they have not taken anyone, they have probably made up their mind to go back to Virat Kohli, and he will once again become this team’s captain. They also thought that they wouldn’t pick anyone who was with them,” Chopra added.
The renowned commentator noted that Kohli is the only high-profile Indian batter for RCB in the current squad.
“Another thing noticeable in this team, which is the story of the last eight to 10 years, is that Virat Kohli is one high-profile Indian batter, and they don’t keep any other Indian batter with that profile. At times, you are unable to keep it at all because no one is available as they don’t come to the auction. They had a chance this time, but they didn’t pick this time as well,” he said.
Chopra feels RCB could have also gone for Ishan Kishan in the auction. The wicket-keeper bat was roped in by SRH for INR 11.25 crore but RCB didn’t bid for him.
“Not taking anything away from Rajat Patidar, but let’s be honest, Ishan Kishan too would have looked different had he been opening. However, they don’t keep anyone. Virat Kohli will remain at the top but they try not to have an Indian batter with a profile close to him, and they maintained that philosophy this time as well,” Chopra observed.
IPL 2025 will start on March 14 with the final on May 25.
