AB de Villiers feels Patidar’s biggest challenge will be “insecurity, stepping into the big boots of captains like Faf and Kohli”
Shashank Kishore18-Mar-20252:39
Captaincy a test for both Patidar and RCB
Virat Kohli has thrown his weight behind new Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar, whom he thinks will “lead you guys for a long time.” Patidar, one of RCB’s three retentions ahead of last November’s mega-auction, was unveiled as Faf du Plessis’ successor last month.”He [Patidar] is an amazing talent,” Kohli said at RCB Unbox, an event to unveil the team’s 2025 roster in Bengaluru on Monday. “He is a great player, we all know that, but he has got a great head on his shoulders, and he will do a great job for this amazing franchise and take the team forward. He has got everything that’s required.”Patidar, who was initially spoken to for the role after IPL 2024, is a new captain. As a precursor to his RCB job, Patidar was handed the captaincy at Madhya Pradesh, and he led the team to the final of the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy late last year. Patidar’s own contribution during the campaign was stellar – 428 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 186.08. His 27 sixes were the second-most in the tournament.Related
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Patidar, who walked onto the dais amid deafening noise spoke of drawing inspiration from the superstars of the past. “Legends like Virat , AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle have played for RCB. I grew up watching them. From the start, I have loved the franchise a lot. I am happy that I got a new role to lead one of the biggest teams in T20 cricket.”De Villiers, whom Patidar had the opportunity to play with during his maiden season in 2021 as an uncapped player, believes captaincy could be a double-edged sword for the 31-year-old. He also hopes Patidar will be able to develop his own style, and not try and emulate past captains like Kohli or du Plessis.”Patidar’s biggest challenge will be insecurity, stepping into the big boots of captains like Faf and Virat,” de Villiers said during a media session organised by . “Having Virat around and constantly almost doubting yourself – ‘Am I doing the right thing? What would Virat do?’ So that I think will be his biggest obstacle. Use the experience of Virat, use the experience of [head coach] Andy Flower, but always stay true to who you are.”
At the captaincy announcement last month, Flower had underlined three qualities he felt made them pick Patidar as captain.”The first one is there’s a calmness and a simplicity to Rajat that I think will stand him in really good stead as a leader and a captain, particularly in the IPL,” Flower had said. “The calm, simple demeanour that inherently lives within Rajat is going to serve him really well in the hurly-burly of that tournament.”The second thing I’d say about him, he’s inherently quite a quiet guy, but observing him, he cares about the people around him, he cares about the people that he plays with, that he shares a dressing room with. And I think that’s a quality that means that he will instantly have the respect and care from other people. As a leader, those qualities are important. In that people will follow you and get behind you.”And then the third thing that stands out for me about him is that he’s got a stubbornness and a strength and a steeliness about him. I’ve seen it myself when I’m trying to coach him in the nets and he won’t listen to me, but you see it in the way that he plays. You see the bravery with which he takes on the game and I think that quality within him will be really important for him through the ups and downs.”
