Mo Bobat, Director of Cricket for RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) responded to the Virat Kohli speculation immediately after their IPL 2025 retention announcement. He stated that it was a complicated decision not to retain skipper Faf du Plessis. And, despite his performances in the earlier seasons, the retention regulations were challenging to hold Faf du Plessis back in the team. Reacting to the rising rumor about Virat Kohli returning as RCB captain, Mo Bobat stated that Faf du Plessis has been released after leading the team for 3 seasons. The franchise has yet to decide who would step up in that position.
Rumors about Virat Kohli making a comeback as RCB Captain
The most anticipated and loved rumor is that Virat Kohli would be seen again as the captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru after 2021 when he stepped down after leading the franchise for 9 seasons. And, not to forget the Indian Premier League IPL history, after MS Dhoni (226 appearances) and Rohit Sharma (158 appearances), Virat Kohli is the 3rd longest-serving skipper with 143 appearances.
But did you know where the rumor peaked?
After Faf du Plessis’s departure from Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after the IPL 2025 retention list was announced, Virat Kohli was again signed for a whopping INR 21 Crore.
In addition to these rising speculations, Mo Bobat managed to keep this undisclosed and just stated that the franchise would have to take a call regarding captaincy. Also, he clarified that during the mega auction, which is set to be held in the upcoming month, they would be looking forward to getting the best leadership option before they could conclude on their final decision.
RCB Director about Releasing Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli’s return as Captain
While speaking to JioCinema, shortly after the retention announcement, Mo Bobat, the director of RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) made the following statement.
“Yeah! Firstly, I am sorry if I would be disappointing everyone listening because I want to clarify that as of now we haven’t decided anything regarding Virat Kohli’s comeback as RCB skipper. Also, we are fully open to options with our wings widespread, and our only decision was to not retain Faf du Plessis. Undoubtedly, he is a great player and had given his best last year and the previous seasons too, but we are very open-minded while heading to the auction.”
Also, Bobat added that retention rules and regulations had made it tougher for them to take this decision to release Faf du Plessis.
“Yes! It is because of these IPL 2025 retention rules that have made it very difficult to keep what we want like in Faf’s case. I am sure that Faf du Plessis will himself admit that he is in the older phase of his cricketing career. As me and Andy Flower, the head coach of RCB will have to think strongly and make a wise decision about RCB’s leadership heading forward, we had to release him.”
RCB retained only 3 Players and Head Coach Andy explains why.
Andy Flower, the head coach of RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) had explained about the 2 retentions other than Virat Kohli. He says retaining Yash Dayal was one of their crucial decision because the team needed such an extraordinary bowler who has a unique capability of swinging the ball in both directions. Also, he adds on, saying that these qualities of the talented left-arm bowler have added great value to their bowling attack.
In addition, Andy Flower speaks about retaining Rajat Patidar, mentioning him as the key player of the RCB team. And, he explains the reason by saying that Rajat’s top-notch talent and adaptability to the game have created a great impact on the squad. Moreover, Andy feels that Rajat authentically symbolizes the spirit of Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Shubman Gill was to captain RCB? Following the path of Mumbai Indians to grab a player from Gujarat Titans.
During the recent IPL 2025 retention, RCB retained Virat Kohli for a staggering INR 21 Crore, Rajat Patidar for INR 11 Crore, and uncapped fast bowler Yash Dayal for INR 5 Crore.
There are many reports that, initially, Royal Challengers Bengaluru targeted Shubman Gill to be brought to their team for the captaincy role. Just similar to how Mumbai Indians bought Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans for their team’s leadership role. However, Gujarat Titans did not release Shubman as they had earlier released Hardik.
Despite missing this target, now RCB is keenly aiming forward to pick Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and KL Rahul during the IPL 2025 mega auction which is tentatively scheduled to be conducted in the next month.
