IPL 2025: "Looking at The Squad...." - Former Royal Challenger Believes Virat Kohli Will be Named RCB Captain

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Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star AB De Villiers believes Virat Kohli is the likely prime candidate from the current to take over the captaincy of the team ahead of the IPL 2025 season.

Having released Faf Du Plessis and the failure to land a player with leadership experience like KL Rahul at the IPL Mega Auction 2025, RCB will need to appoint a new captain heading into the next edition of the lucrative league.

The RCB thinktank including head coach Andy Flower and director of cricket Mo Bobat have hinted about Kohli potentially taking the leadership role, but the duo have said any announcement on the captaincy will be made in the days ahead.

While many back Kohli to reclaim the role after reports emerged of his interest to lead the team, his former teammate De Villiers feels the star India batter, who is set for his 18th season with the Bengaluru-based side, is likely to be reappointed as the skipper.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, although there is no official confirmation, De Villiers felt that Kohli will take up RCB captaincy and the announcement should not be far away.

"Virat Kohli, I don't think it has been confirmed yet but he will be captain looking at the squad," said the RCB legend on the topic of who will be RCB's next captain.

Arriving to the team in 2008, Kohli had captained the Royal Challengers Bengaluru from 2013 to 2021 before stepping down from the role ahead of the IPL 2022 season, when the franchise bought Du Plessis at the Mega Auction that year to fill the void.

The 36-year-old Kohli, who was retained by the Royal Challengers for Rs 21 Crore, has captained the team in 143 matches and led them close to a title in 2016, when they lost the final to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The veteran star would hope to do one better in the next three-year cycle, which could also be one of his last few seasons in the lucrative league, having already retired from the shortest format on the international stage.

RCB bought experienced players like Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya among others at the two-day IPL 2025 Mega Auction last weekend as the franchise moved to a different approach.