IPL-winning skipper Rajat Patidar’s role has been downplayed by the recent remarks from his RCB teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who discredits the captain’s efforts, claiming the side was too experienced to need any firm leadership role.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended their 18-year-long wait to clinch their maiden title in the Indian Premier League, a much-awaited moment for the loyal fans and Virat Kohli, who has been part of the side since the inaugural season of 2008.
Having played the finals on several occasions before, Virat Kohli has witnessed the Royal Challengers Bengaluru collapse in several finals, with the 2016 final being the most disheartening loss, as they lost by a whisker to the Sunrisers Hyderabad when Kohli led them in the finals. However, his records and the franchise’s fan following have always made RCB a formidable team.
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“Rajat Patidar didn’t have to do much…” – Bhuvneshwar Kumar belittles the captain’s role in IPL triumph
While RCB got their hands on the maiden IPL title, one of their new recruits, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, has made an astonishing remark about the skipper Rajat Patidar’s role in the team and his contributions to the win.
“The best part was that since it was such an experienced team, Rajat didn’t have to do much. Where leadership was needed, he took decisions without hesitation. That’s a quality – knowing when to step in and when to let things be,” Bhuvneshwar said on the podcast Talk with Manvendra.
Bhuvneshwar meant that the players whom RCB possessed this time around were mostly senior players who had played immense cricket and were all relatively more experienced than the skipper; hence, they were all well aware of their roles.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar lauds RCB’s team effort in IPL 2025
The veteran pacer, who himself finished with 17 wickets in the season of the IPL, has praised the team’s collective effort in winning games. From openers Phil Salt and Virat Kohli to lower-order batters Jitesh Sharma and Tim David, all contributed on their level to lead them to a compelling win.
Also, the RCB bowlers did an exceptional job. Josh Hazlewood might have been the showman, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, and especially spinner Krunal Pandya produced several special spells with the white ball.
“This time, the biggest difference was that all players in the XI won matches at different times, in different situations. You can’t win a big tournament relying on just one or two players. Bowlers stepped up in some games, batters in others. In every stage, a new player emerged to win it for us,” he added.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar shares light-hearted insights on the bond with Virat Kohli
In the talk show with Manvendra, the former Indian pacer also revealed his bond with Virat Kohli and opened up about talking more about family and off-field matters, as they are now more mature individuals than they were during their India days.
“Things are different now. When we meet these days, we talk more about family or off-the-ground matters because everyone has a family now,” he said.
However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was adamant about the fact that the bond between individual players does not play any role in performing well. Performing well is solely in the interest of the game as well as the franchise, regardless of friendship or enmity.
“We never really need that bond to perform well. If RCB has picked me, Virat, or any other player, they want us to perform regardless of friendship. Everyone knows what they have to do on the ground. But off the ground, of course, things have changed. We’ve matured, we’ve grown older, so now the conversations are different,” he concluded.
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