Jitesh Sharma became the ninth captain to lead Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the franchise’s history after walking out for the toss during Match 65 of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. He stepped in for full-time skipper, Rajat Patidar, who is currently nursing a finger injury.
Patidar was named as one of the Impact Substitutes. He will be expected to come out to bat during the second innings after RCB won the toss and elected to field first. Jitesh is the fifth Indian to lead the franchise. Kevin Pietersen, Daniel Vettori, Shane Watson, and Faf du Plessis are the overseas cricketers who have previously led the side in their 18-season-long history.
Notably, star cricketer Virat Kohli is the longest-standing captain for the popular franchise, and also the only skipper to have led the side in over 100 matches. In the 143 matches that he captained, he held a win percentage of 50.00, which is great considering the longevity of his leadership that spanned between 2011 and 2023 seasons.
Full list of RCB captains in IPL history
| Sr. No. | Player | Span | Matches Captained | Win/Loss Ratio |
| 1 | Rahul Dravid | 2008-2008 | 14 | 0.40 |
| 2 | Kevin Pietersen | 2009-2009 | 6 | 0.50 |
| 3 | Anil Kumble | 2009-2010 | 35 | 1.18 |
| 4 | Daniel Vettori | 2011-2012 | 28 | 1.15 |
| 5 | Virat Kohli | 2011-2023 | 143 | 0.96 |
| 6 | Shane Watson | 2017-2017 | 3 | 0.50 |
| 7 | Faf du Plessis | 2022-2024 | 42 | 1.00 |
| 8 | Rajat Patidar | 2025* | 12 | 2.67 |
| 9 | Jitesh Sharma | 2025* | 1 | N/A |
*as of May 23, 2025
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As far as RCB’s IPL 2025 is concerned, they have already secured their berth in the playoffs. The current game against SRH serves as an opportunity to enhance their likelihood of finishing in the top two on the points table. The last time RCB finished in the top two was during the 2016 season. That was the third time they ended up as runners-up in the marquee T20 league.
