Former Indian player Kris Srikkanth believes veteran batter Virat Kohli would have willingly declined the option of leading the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2025 to prioritize his batting as well. However, Kohli has led RCB in 143 games, winning 66 and losing 70 as well.

Talking about Kohli being overlooked as a possible captaincy option this season, Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel [via India Today]: “I think Virat would have said no to the captaincy. He would have said ‘,I want to focus on batting’. I think all this must have happened in consultation with Virat Kohli.”

“Rajat Patidar is a good choice. He has been doing well in the IPL. The good things is he will not have a lot of expectations. When we appointed Dhoni in 2007 as the T20 World Cup captain, not a lot was expected of him and the team. It’s a bit like that…Expectations from Rajat Patidar as a captain are not high. He will take his own calls. He will consult Virat Kohli, who will be a guiding force,” again said Srikkanth.

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Meanwhile, Virat Kohli welcomed RCB’s decision to appoint Rajat Patidar as the captain for the 2025 IPL season. He applauded Patidar’s evolution as a player and leader over the past few years and also urged the fans to back him.

In a video released by RCB, Kohli said [quoted by ESPN Cricinfo]: “I think Virat would have said no to the captaincy. He would have said ‘,I want to focus on batting’. I think all this must have happened in consultation with Virat Kohli.

“Rajat Patidar is a good choice. He has been doing well in the IPL. The good things is he will not have a lot of expectations. When we appointed Dhoni in 2007 as the T20 World Cup captain, not a lot was expected of him and the team. It’s a bit like that…Expectations from Rajat Patidar as a captain are not high. He will take his own calls. He will consult Virat Kohli, who will be a guiding force,” concluded Srikkanth.