"He didn't have any ego" - Sunil Gavaskar lauds Rajat Patidar's captaincy in RCB's IPL 2025 win

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has lauded Rajat Patidar for his leadership in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) victorious IPL 2025 campaign. He pointed out that the RCB skipper didn't have any ego and was willing to take advice from the senior players.

RCB beat the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in the IPL 2025 final in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, June 3. They set a 191-run target after being asked to bat first and restricted Shreyas Iyer and company to 184/7 to end their 17-season IPL trophy drought.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gavaskar was asked about his thoughts on Patidar's captaincy in IPL 2025.

"His captaincy has been extremely impressive. At times, you have slight hesitation in your mind when you have so many superstar players in your team, as to whether you will be able to manage them. However, the way he has developed this team and gotten the support from the superstars, you come to know that he has leadership qualities," he responded.

"He didn't have any ego. He was going to the senior players and discussing with them what needed to be done. It was evident from the way he was asking that he didn't have any ego. A captain should never have any ego. He has to be doing what is good for the team, and he did exactly that," the former India opener added.

Sunil Gavaskar highlighted that other Indian captains like Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill also led their sides well in IPL 2025. While observing that only one of them could have led their team to a title, he expressed hope about India having a lot of leaders going forward, even though not all of them might become the captain.

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"He was in total command" - Harbhajan Singh praises Rajat Patidar's captaincy in RCB's IPL 2025 win

Rajat Patidar led RCB for the first time in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]

In the same discussion, Harbhajan Singh noted that Rajat Patidar was in complete control and led RCB to their maiden IPL title in his first season as skipper.

"Fantastic, what could have been better than this? In your first season, you won the trophy for a team that had waited for it for so many years. It's important how the captain manages the team, and the way he managed the team, he was in total command," he said.

The former India spinner opined that RCB should appoint Patidar as their long-term captain.

"The same two captains were against each other in domestic cricket. Shreyas Iyer won in that final. God said he had made Shreyas win that day, so he had to make Patidar win today. I feel they should make Patidar the captain for the next five to seven years because he has won the trophy now. Nothing bigger than this had ever happened," Harbhajan observed.

Rajat Patidar was one of two capped players, with Virat Kohli being the other, retained by RCB ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. He was subsequently named their skipper and proved the decision right by leading the team to the trophy.