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It was a season of bittersweet for the Bengaluru based Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season. The Faf du Plessis led side finished in 4th position in the league table beating the Chennai Super Kings on the last matchday of the league phase. However, RCB once again failed to bag their maiden IPL Trophy as they lost to the Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator match.

It was a disappointing start to the season for the Bengaluru based side. They began their season with only one win and 7 defeats in the first 8 matches. Following that, it was a dream run that led them to the IPL 2024 Playoffs. They won their next 6 matches back-to-back to book their place into the playoffs after a crunch match against Chennai Super Kings.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Dream Comeback in IPL 2024

However, it ended in a disappointment again for the RCB faithful like it has been the case since the year 2008, the first season of the IPL. Bangalore lost to Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator to bow out of the IPL 2024 season. While it ended on a disappointing note, the back-to-back 6 wins was a positive alongwith Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis’ 741 and 438 runs respectively.

It’s once again the time to restart with the IPL 2025 Mega Auction approaching, where the teams will be restricted to a limited number of retention and will have to release most of the players into the Auction. RCB have some crucial decisions to make. While Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar are likely to be retained, RCB could be forced to release their captain Faf du Plessis, given he is currently 40-years-old. In this article, we take a look at possible captaincy options for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of IPL 2025.

Faf du Plessis

The first name in this list is obviously the South African veteran pro and the current Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis. Although it is not confirmed yet that Faf du Plessis is likely to be released, RCB might decide to keep the South African and if they fail to get hold of a long-term captain in Auction, there is all the possibility that Faf du Plessis might continue on as the leader of the RCB unit.

KL Rahul

A former RCB player from the team’s home state Karnataka, KL Rahul, is currently linked with a move to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). KL Rahul is currently contracted with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and was the captain of the team in IPL 2024. However, after the team’s disappointing season and a viral video showcasing team owner having a heated altercation with Rahul, there are early rumours that might be released by Lucknow and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), his former team, could be his likely destination.

Rohit Sharma

While the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) winning the IPL after 10 years after former captain Gautam Gambhir returned to the team as the mentor was one of the biggest moment of the IPL 2024, the other big drama unfolded at Mumbai Indians camp. Pre-IPL 2024, Mumbai Indians brought back former player Hardik Pandya and made the captain, sacking Rohit Sharma. After that, it was a forgetful season for the 5-times champions who finished at bottom of the points table. Now, there are rumours going on that India’s T20 World Cup 2024 winning captain Rohit Sharma is leaving Mumbai Indians. If Rohit Sharma do end up leaving the Mumbai Indians, the 5-times IPL winning captain will be much in demand and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) could be one of the team desperately going for the batter.

Virat Kohli

Another player and probably some one really out of the box choice would be former captain of the team Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli announced his decision to resign as RCB captain after the 2021 IPL after taking over the reins in 2013. Since then, Bengaluru have had Faf du Plessis as the captain of the team. But with Faf du Plessis now 40-years-old, RCB could be looking for a long-term captain. However, there is not much long-term captaincy options in the market and RCB might be forced to have a stop-gap in the form of Virat Kohli until they finally find their long-term captain.

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