New Delhi, 1 Nov

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Director of Cricket Mo Bobat said that no decison has been made as to who will captain the franchise in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season next year.

This comes amid several media reports claiming that star India batter Virat Kohli will once again be back as RCB's captain, after initially giving up the post in 2021 season after a see-saw journey as a skipper since 2013, which included a runners-up finish in 2016, where they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight runs.

RCB announced on Thursday that they have retained Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction to be held this year.

Speaking in a video after the retention announcement, Bobat ruled out that Virat has been finalised as a captain.

"I am sorry to disappoint everybody listening. We have not made any decision related to captaincy or on that (Kohli returning as skipper) as yet. We are open to options. The only obvious decision we made was not to retain Faf. He did a great job last year and the year before that. So from our perspective, we will keep a very open mind when we head to the auction," said Bobat in a video posted by RCB.

Under Faf's captaincy from 2022, RCB reached playoffs in two out of three seasons in 2022 and this year. This year's progress to playoffs was more special, given it came after they had won just one game in the first half of the competition and won six matches on the bounce to secure their final four spot.

He also revealed that not retaining pacer Mohammed Siraj, who has been in the core of the franchise since 2018, having taken 83 wickets in 87 matches, was the "toughest decision" given his strong performances for RCB and India over the years. He had taken 15 wickets in 14 matches last season.

"Regarding Mohammed Siraj, not retaining him was our toughest decision. We value his contributions, having been a strong performer for RCB and India over the years. However, we wanted to enter the auction with as many options open as possible, especially to build a balanced bowling attack capable of competing effectively in the IPL and other formats," Bobat said.

Bobat also said that they also wanted to retain Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who is missing the current Test summer due to a back surgery and could also miss the IPL next year. The all-rounder had a solid season with RCB this year after being traded from Mumbai Indians (MI), scoring 255 runs in 13 matches at an average of 31.88, strike rate of over 143 and taking 10 wickets.

The Director of Cricket also said that the team wanted to strengthen their Indian core and that is why two "high quality players" in Patidar and pacer Dayal were retained.

"For us, prioritizing a strong Indian core during the auction phase is crucial, and our retention reflects that decision. Retaining our players was a straightforward choice, especially given their performance last year."

"Rajat and Yash are two high-quality players who demonstrated their capabilities last season. Rajat has a unique ability to attack spin and play aggressively, while Yash impressed us with the new ball bowler capable of swinging it both ways and performing well under pressure. Retaining them was an obvious choice," he added.

Patidar had an impressive season in the last IPL, scoring 395 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 177.13, including five half-centuries. Since his debut in 2021, Patidar has played 27 matches, accumulating 799 runs at a strike rate of 158.85. His attacking abilities against spin won him plenty of acclaim this season. Uncapped player Dayal led RCB's bowling attack in IPL 2024, taking 15 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 9.15.

In IPL 2024, RCB narrowly secured a place in the top four, winning seven of their 14 matches and finishing fourth with 14 points. However, their journey in the 17th season ended after a four-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the playoffs. -ANI