3 reasons why Rajat Patidar has been the best captain in IPL 2025

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar turned 32 on June 1 with his side one step away from the elusive Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy. The right-handed batter had a massive responsibility on his shoulders after taking over as the captain ahead of the 2025 season.

RCB had a massive task of finding a new captain after Faf du Plessis' departure. With an eye on the future, the franchise made the bold call of naming Patidar as the next candidate

The biggest praise for his captaincy, and the biggest indicator as to why he has been the best captain, stems from how sorely he was missed when he featured only as an impact sub in a couple of matches, while Jitesh Sharma led the team.

RCB were arguably all over the place without Patidar at the helm, losing to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and looking deflated against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), before a miracle got them over the line.

On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why Rajat Patidar has been the best captain in IPL 2025.

#1 Being level-headed and unafraid of taking calculated risks

The primary adjective that everyone has tagged Patidar with during his stint as captain is 'calm'. It is also one of the required traits for someone leading such a high-profile franchise that has an affinity for inviting and stumbling into crises.

His ability to remain level-headed has served RCB well this season. Often, it takes time for a new squad to gel together, and since RCB's core was quite thin after just three retentions, they almost built a squad from scratch. On so many occasions in the past, the rebuild process has faltered due to a wide variety of reasons.

But, for RCB, the captaincy has been the glue that has been holding everything in its place up until now. Players being in form, and everyone sticking to their roles and tasks, have helped for sure, but it might not have been this smooth had it not been for the brilliant leadership the new captain has shown.

#2 Maximising the resources

In a highly competitive league like IPL, where the playing field is level in terms of auction purse money and the same pool of players being at the disposal for everyone, there is not a massive gap in terms of squad quality. In such cases, when teams are relatively close to each other in terms of strength and prowess, more often than not, it is the team that utilises their resources in the best manner possible comes out on top.

Having players in form is one thing, but it is another thing to use them the right way. Patidar was blessed with a dynamic, modern squad, with the potential to succeed, but only if used in the right manner, and he has just done that.

He has made smart bowling changes, aligning with what the conditions dictate. The captain has also sought alternate and unconventional ways at times as a Plan B when things have not gone the way as intended. The introduction of Romario Shepherd into the setup was carried out at the perfect time, and the way he has dealt with the unavailability of major players like Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, and Josh Hazlewood has also been on point.

#3 Patidar has not let expectations affect his decision-making

Considering expectations as a primary factor, and the rest as secondary, leading RCB is arguably the toughest task in the entire competition. The trophy drought being brought up at every conceivable opportunity, along with the presence of some major high-profile names in the squad. Leading with such baggage cannot be easy, and Patidar's predecessors have often crumbled under pressure in the past.

However, with almost an ironic 'nothing to lose' mentality, a new captain like Rajat Patidar has not let any of those external factors get to him. Making the most of an exceptional think tank off the field, Patidar has been more or less spot-on with his calls on the field.

In a way, he has welcomed and embraced the pressure, given that is an inevitable factor anyway. Although Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill have also been exceptional while leading their respective sides in IPL 2025, an astounding achievement of leading a team into the finals in the very first season separates Patidar from them.