IPL 2025: Will Virat Kohli be Royal Challengers Bengaluru Captain? - RCB Director of Cricket Bobat Answers

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) released Faf Du Plessis on the retention deadline day on Thursday (October 31), leaving the team's captaincy slot vacant ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction.

A few days before the retention deadline, reports surfaced stating the former captain Virat Kohli may be interested in the role, while some even said the former Indian skipper is set to take over following his retention for Rs 21 Crore.

RCB's Director of Cricket, however, said that no decison has been made as to who will captain the franchise in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season next year. Speaking in a video after the retention announcement, Bobat ruled out that Virat has been finalised as a captain.

"I am sorry to disappoint everybody listening. We have not made any decision related to captaincy or on that (Kohli returning as skipper) as yet. We are open to options," said Bobat in a video posted by RCB.

"The only obvious decision we made was not to retain Faf. He did a great job last year and the year before that. So from our perspective, we will keep a very open mind when we head to the auction."

Under Du Plessis' captaincy from 2022, RCB reached playoffs in two out of three seasons in 2022 and 2024, when they won six matches on the bounce to secure their final four spot after winning just one game in the first half of the competition.

RCB could still buy back Du Plessis in the auction or also have the option of picking up another captaincy candidate at the IPL Mega Auction later this month with the likes of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer also entering the auction pool.

If Kohli is keen on captaincy, RCB may re-appoint him as skipper just before the season, but will wait until the auction is over to make any announcement. Kohli gave up the post in 2021 season after a see-saw journey as a skipper since 2013, which included a runners-up finish in 2016, where they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight runs.