New Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar spoke about the emotional moment when Virat Kohli handed him the captaincy for the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Reminiscing about that life-altering encounter, Patidar said he was starstruck then and didn't know how to respond until Kohli encouraged him with these words: "You deserve it, you earned it."
Speaking on the RCB Podcast, the 31-year-old recollected all the high and lows in his journey from being jolted at the 2022 mega auction when despite earlier indicators from the franchise, was left out to finally being picked to lead a team that is yet to grab its first IPL title.
Patidar remembered that before the 2022 season, he was quietly hopeful of being selected. "I had received a message (before the mega auction for IPL 2022) that you be prepared. that we will select you. I had some hope that I will get another opportunity (to play for RCB). But I did not get selected in the mega auction. I was a bit disappointed," he said.
After not being selected, Patidar resumed playing local cricket in Indore. But fate intervened when RCB called him as a replacement for the injured Luvnith Sisodia. Still, the circumstances made him hesitant. "To tell you frankly, I didn't want to come as a replacement because I knew that I wouldn't get a chance to play there, and I always feel that I don't want to sit there (in the dugout). I wasn't angry. It was like, if they didn't pick me (during the auction), then I won't get it (get to play). I was angry for a while, but then I was normal," he recalled.
Fast forward three years, and Patidar found himself at the center of a drastic change of guard within the RCB setup. Amid the speculations related to leadership changes, the team surprised everyone by naming him captain for the 2025 IPL season.
Reflecting on the moment he was handed the reins by Kohli, Patidar said, "When he was giving it to me, I didn’t know how to react. I held it, looked at him, and asked myself, ‘What should I do now?’ Then he said, ‘You deserve it, you earned it.’ That calmed me down."
He said he had questions and many of them, given the senior figures in the squad. "I had many questions like, there are so many (big players) in the team. Virat Kohli is such a big player, how will you do it under him," he said.
He came out confidently with that support of Kohli. "I know how supportive he is about this (captaincy change). I knew I have his full support. Like I said, this is a learning for me, it's an opportunity for me. So, I will learn as much as I can from him. Because no one has the experience and ideas that he has in every role-be it batting, as an individual and as a captain," Patidar explained.
He also confessed that it was incredibly special to receive the captaincy plaque from a person whom he had admired since his childhood days. "I have seen him (Kohli) since I started watching TV — in the IPL, off the field, in the Indian team. To take that thing (the captaincy plaque) from him… it was very special," he said.
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