4 players to have won the IPL in their first season as captain ft. Rajat Patidar

The 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final to win their first title in 18 years of the tournament’s history. RCB finally ended their IPL trophy drought and lifted the silverware on Tuesday, June 3, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

In what went down as a historic night, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar too etched his name in history books, becoming just the fourth cricketer to win the IPL in their first season as captain. Additionally, he became only the third Indian to achieve this feat.

It was an emotional ending to the IPL 2025 for RCB and their fans. Everyone sympathised with Shreyas Iyer, who missed becoming the only captain to lead two different franchises to an IPL win, but the ultimate showdown had Bengaluru written all over.

Patidar, in a heartfelt gesture, dedicated the win especially to Virat Kohli, who has been associated with the franchise for 18 years - the only player to have represented one team since the tournament’s inception.

Everyone could relate to Kohli’s jubilant celebrations as the veteran had finally gotten his hands on the IPL trophy after waiting for 18 long years. But none of this would have been possible without Patidar’s leadership, which remains one of the key reasons behind the team’s victory.

On that note, here’s looking at four players who have won the IPL in their first season as captain:

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#4 Shane Warne, Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2008

The late Shane Warne was the first ever captain to win an IPL title as he led Rajasthan Royals (RR) to the championship in the tournament’s inaugural edition in 2008. Notably, the Australian remains the only player to have undertaken two roles in the same year - captain and coach.

RR beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by three wickets in the tournament’s first-ever final at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on June 1, 2008. CSK posted 163/5 in the first innings, and it went down as a thrilling final as RR chased down the 164-run target on the last delivery of the game.

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#3 Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians, IPL 2013

Like Warne, Rohit Sharma also won his maiden IPL title as captain against CSK when MI faced the then two-time champions in the summit clash of the 2013 edition. The match was played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on May 26.

Rohit Sharma was handed the captaincy duties midway into MI’s 2013 season after Ricky Ponting stepped down from the role. Taking up the leadership role for the first time in IPL, Rohit led MI to a win that year. Ge went on to finish his IPL captaincy career after leading the Mumbai-based franchise to five title wins.

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#2 Hardik Pandya, Gujarat Titans, IPL 2022

Hardik Pandya joined the Gujarat Titans (GT) when the team was introduced in 2022 and was handed the captaincy, with Ashish Nehra their head coach. The franchise had a brilliant outing in their first-ever IPL season and were eventually crowned the champions.

Pandya led GT to the summit clash, where they faced Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals, who had made the final for the first time after the inaugural edition. An all-round display from the Titans saw them lift the cup at their home ground in Ahmedabad as the venue hosted its first-ever IPL final.

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#1 Rajat Patidar, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, IPL 2025

RCB skipper Rajat Patidar is the latest entrant in the list of players to win the IPL in their first outing as captains. He did what many other captains couldn’t do for RCB, leading them to their maiden title win in 18 IPL editions.

Patidar was named the team’s skipper ahead of the 2025 edition after the team parted ways with their former skipper, Faf du Plessis. RCB made it to the playoffs under the South African’s leadership in IPL 2024 but couldn’t make it to the final.

They came back stronger in 2025 and strategically formed a powerful squad to finally break their IPL trophy curse. RCB defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the title clash in Ahmedabad on June 3.