Rajat Patidar has surprised everyone with a heartfelt revelation about his captaincy journey at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The RCB will kick off its title defense against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 28 in Bengaluru.
Rajat Patidar was named the Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain last year, replacing Faf du Plessis after the 2024 mega auction. In his debut season as captain, the Madhya Pradesh batter ended RCB’s 18-year title drought by defeating the Punjab Kings in the 2025 final.
Jitesh Sharma played biggest role in Rajat Patidar’s leadership!!
Ahead of the season opener, Patidar has revealed that the player who helped him the most during his captaincy journey was not Virat Kohli, but Jitesh Sharma. This shocking revelation has stunned everyone, especially because many believed Kohli played the biggest mentoring role.
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The RCB captain said that Jitesh Sharma’s wicketkeeping point of view has been his secret weapon. Patidar said that there is a strong group of leaders like Virat Kohli, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Phil Salt, but he leaned the most on Jitesh because of his on-field clarity and instant judgment.
Rajat Patidar said on Cricbuzz: “There wasn’t just one player. There were a lot of experienced players. This team has a group of leaders. I was trying to get inputs from everyone, especially Jitesh Sharma. He used to do wicketkeeping.
He had a clear picture of where to bowl. I used to take more input from some than others. Virat was also there. There were a lot of experienced players. Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Phil Salt. It was a group of leaders who helped me a lot.”
Rajat Patidar avoids forced changes
He also shared that he never tries to force changes to look different every season. However, the skipper admitted that he reviews his mistakes with coaches and follows his natural instincts.
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Patidar signed off by saying, “I never think that I want to do something new. I want to do something different from last year. If I feel that I want to improve on my mistakes, I talk to my coaches about it in detail. But I don’t feel that I need to change anything. I never change my instincts.”
🚨 EXCLUSIVE
What did it feel like to win RCB’s 2025 title?
Rajat Patidar reveals all 👀 Watch now!@RCBTweets #RCB pic.twitter.com/cFWecuq8k1
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) March 26, 2026
Aryaman Vikram Birla and Rajat Patidar reunite at RCB
Meanwhile, IPL has brought a remarkable reunion. Years ago, Aryaman Vikram Birla and Rajat Patidar were just teammates in the Madhya Pradesh dressing room, and they even opened the batting together in domestic cricket. Even Aryaman played with Venkatesh Iyer.
Now, fate has brought them back together, but in roles no one could have imagined. Aryaman Birla is now the chairman of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, taking charge after the franchise was bought in a record-breaking deal by a consortium led by the Aditya Birla Group.
On the other hand, Patidar is now the captain of RCB. From Ranji teammates to chairman and captain of one of the IPL’s biggest franchises, this reunion is a perfect full-circle story.
