Former India player Aakash Chopra has added that IPL 2025 has given Rajat Patidar a great opportunity as the RCB captain. He urged Rajat not to try to emulate Virat Kohli’s approach as skipper as well. However, Patidar (₹11 crore) was among the three players retained by RCB ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, alongside Kohli (₹21 crore) and Yash Dayal (₹5 crore) as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “The biggest opportunity is for Rajat Patidar. What will you expect from him? He did well for MP (Madhya Pradesh), took the team to the final in SMAT (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy), and the team looked towards you and said they are planning for the next four to five years. However, do they actually invest that much? That question always remains,” he said.
“They have a legacy of good captains. Don’t think what Virat Kohli would have done. When a player of such huge stature is part of the team, you look towards him. He has also captained this team for eight overs. So you suddenly think what Virat would have done in a particular situation,” Chopra added.
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“There would be a lot of pressure on you if you go with that thinking because you will never chart your own course. It’s important to make your own way. Virat Kohli is a part of that team, you don’t have to captain like Virat Kohli. So opportunities for him. He can actually create history. If he does what has not happened to date – Wow,” Chopra further shared.
However, Aakash Chopra also picked Rasikh Dar among the RCB players with huge opportunities in IPL 2025 as well.
“I am very excited about Rasikh Dar Salam’s potential. He bowls at the death and bowls back-of-the-hand slower ones and yorkers. He does not have that much pace, but he is solid. He can also come as an Impact Player. Delhi used him extremely well and he picked up wickets at the death. So I think it’s a great opportunity for him,” he said.
“I don’t know how many chances Devdutt Padikkal would get, but if he gets them, again it’s a huge opportunity and possibility. When he played for this team, he even scored a century with Virat Kohli at the Wankhede ground. Maybe it could be an excellent season for Devdutt Padikkal, provided he gets enough opportunities,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
