Virat Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have created an unbreakable bond together in the Indian Premier League. But there was one point in the long-standing journey when the franchise was about to take a harsh decision against Virat Kohli.
Kohli has been with RCB since the beginning of the Indian Premier League in 2008. He tasted winning the trophy for the first time in his IPL career in 2025. In 2026, Virat and RCB defended their trophy successfully to become the third franchise after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to win the title in two consecutive seasons.
Virat Kohli was about to lose RCB’s leadership role in 2019
Virat was the leader of the team from 2013 to 2021 before stepping down from the role after the 2021 IPL season. He led the team on a few occasions after being registered as a stopgap captain, but never opted for a second stint as a full time captaincy role for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
In a revelation, former Team India and RCB keeper-batter Parthiv Patel stated that he was on the verge of replacing Virat Kohli as the franchise captain, as were Ashish Nehra and Gary Kirsten, who were also part of the franchise at that time.
Parthiv Patel was leading the race to replace Virat Kohli as RCB captain
Mentioning Moeen Ali’s one of the interviews, Patel expressed that Nehra and Kirsten were backing him to replace Kohli. But that plan never materialized as the franchise replaced both Ashish Nehra and Gary Kirsten.
“I have never talked about this, but Moeen Ali mentioned it in an interview. The fact is that I was told, ‘Be ready, we are thinking about this for next year.’ But the next year, the two people who offered it to me [Ashish Nehra and Gary Kirsten] were replaced, new coaches came in, and I didn’t get to play a single match that entire season,” said Parthiv during an interaction on Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel.
Moeen Ali confirmed Parthiv Patel as a potential replacement for Virat Kohli
Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali earlier in an interview claimed that during the IPL 2029 season, the RCB management came up with a plan to remove Virat Kohli from the captaincy. Instead of replacing Virat in the role, the franchise somehow kept him as the captain, but made changes in the coaching set-up. Parthiv Patel was believed to be leading the race before Bengaluru’s next skipper.
“Yes, I think he was. I’m quite sure he was. In the final year when Gary Kirsten was there, after the first year, I believe Parthiv was in line to become captain. He had a brilliant cricketing brain,’ Moeen Ali told SportsTak.
“That was the talk at the time. I don’t know what happened or why it didn’t materialise, but I’m sure he was seriously considered for the role,” he added.
Kohli played as the RCB captain during the 2019 season and continued for two more seasons after that. He stepped down from the role in 2021.
